For those that are new,
this is the calling prayer, Shangrila,
which I wrote for all of us a few years ago.
It is the prayer we shall open our memorial with.
I am writing the new prayer for this year tonight.

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To my brethren

People die in many ways.
Our people died from brain tumors.
I have always believed there was
something very special about them.
We have shared their lives, our struggles
and our heartbreak with each other and
have become.....brethren.
Our tragedies have created this family.

Somedays we are the broken-hearted.
Somedays we are simply....broken.
And, everyday, we live with the hope
that our precious ones, did not die in vain.
And, everyday, the pain of our loss hurts.
And, everyday, we seek to be nourished,
our love grows.

This is the prayer, entreaty, memorial
I have written, to open the reading of the
names of our loved ones and the messages
of love we want to share. Perhaps, they
have already heard these messages, as soon
as they were born. Nevertheless, they shall be
spoken again, a ritual of love and honor.
Of a bond, that can not and will not....
ever be broken.

Shangrila

There are fissures in our hearts
There are valleys in our families
Tonight, we speak the names of those
we lost to death, hoping with all our
might that our love will reach their
souls, and that their love will heal
our hearts, restore our lives.

They say the universe is infinite
They say that love is endless, timeless
I say I saw a river running through the moon
I say I cried icy tears with an angel
I believe we were created
I believe our Creator listens to us
I ask our Creator to acknowledge our love
and to carry our messages of love to those
we miss so much, those we can no longer
hold, those we can no longer touch.

I ask our Creator to bear with me

I believe in love.
I believe in spiritual force.
I believe in.....angels.

the angel of sorrow
the angel of heartbreak
the angel of longing
the angel of missed opportunity
the angel of yearning
the angel of unspoken words
the angel of silent witness

I call upon the Mighty Spirits of the Earth
of Mother Earth......

the spirits of the north, south, east and west
the spirits of earth, wind, water and fire
wherein, we are touched everyday, by their
caress, not always knowing that they are flowing
by us and within us

I call upon all the Angels of Light

the angel of hope
the angel of faith
the angel of life
the angel of love

to hear our reading of their names
to hear our expressions of love
to hear our messages of hope

and tell them we pray, we pray
they have found new life
in Shangrila

In beautiful Shangrila
Heaven, in Heaven

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Love
George