Last Thursday, October 8th, a beautiful woman who I knew very briefly, left this physical world. She left behind three beautiful children, the youngest being a 14-year old girl.
I had the honor of meeting her and her daughter through my work at Bubble Goddess Bath Co. Dina attended another friend’s kickoff spa experience last March and at that time, I learned she had cancer and had outlived her prognosis by at least three years. Looking at her, one would never have known she was dealing with cancer that was throughout her body. She was beautiful, inside and out–vibrant and vital.
This beautiful woman told me she’d been making many of her own personal care products but was very happy to have access to ours because there were certain products, like our body butter, that she’d never been able to create for herself. That day, she became a client. She also asked me if I would do a mother-daughter spa experience for her daughter and some of her daughter’s girlfriends and moms. She wanted to educate her daughter and her friends with our message of safe products, and also create a special memory by connecting with her daughter through some fun Mother/Daughter spa time.
The spa experience we shared last March was all that and more! There was education, fun and lots of connecting. As I stood there that evening, I was graced by the beauty, serenity and courage of this lovely woman. I was awed by the beautiful relationship she had with her daughter and honored to witness the comfortable way in which she spoke about her disease and what she wanted to pass on to this circle of women. I was profoundly touched by the ease and closeness that flowed between her and her daughter. This 14-year old girl seemed grounded and connected to all that was happening in her life.
Dina taught me in our face-to-face meetings and our phone conversations that one can be present to everyone else in one’s life, no matter what is happening. She showed me that prognoses are not certainties–with intuition, determination, courage, being grounded, and integration of many disciplines, one can live life fully and well beyond what medical science may dictate. She also showed me that grace, strength, and courage can go hand in hand. She also demonstrated that we should never stop learning and seeking, but this must be balanced with pausing to see what really speaks to our core–our inner being–and going with that–with belief and conviction.
Above all else, I learned from Dina and Dina’s story that life is a precious gift to be enjoyed and appreciated and valued every single day for however long that may be. And for however long, TO LOVE OTHERS AND ALLOW ONESELF TO BE LOVED. In the end that is really all that matters!
