Quietly celebrating Tyko today on what would have been his 54th birthday.

The echo of emptiness from lost loved ones eventually dwindles, becoming faint and distant with time.

Yes, notwithstanding the level of preparedness, the initial flood of pain inevitably fills our hearts and almost drowns us. But in due course, the ebb arrives and the sadness recedes into a gentle sea of seemingly perpetual, yet overcomable sorrow.

Hesitantly at first, we slowly begin to nourish the memories of lost ones, somehow encouraging their souls to linger secretly in the depths of our hearts, and, conciseness.

Why would we allow remarkable friendships to ever be forgotten?

While the healing process often begins long before the inevitable final act has been revealed, we are left with a deep emotional laceration – collateral damage from life itself – one that we must accept and endure as it is a contribution to the human experience.

At some point in life, the cumulative departure of family, friends, and contemporaries, it begins to dawn upon us; the ephemerality of our existence, the mysterious realm of mortality, and, if we are humbled by our fate and destiny, perhaps even genuine gratitude for the allowance of time we were granted life in a physical form. Of being a being.

Sorrow and emptiness must certainly give way to cherished memories of those who have moved on but quietly continue to fill our lives with inspiration and, ultimately, love. Eternal love.