Things happen for a reason.

I’m not entirely sure what just happened.

I know there are times in our lives when things change, life is change, I understand that, but it’s hard to take when you never saw that change coming. I suppose it was inevitable. I was so set in my days, blissfully ignorant of anything going on, and now I’ve lost my footing and am trying to once again balance on uneven ground. This morning, we had a family, a happy, energetic, misfit lovely family and now we’ve lost our leader, our mentor, our friend. The numb feeling that came over the crowd was instantaneous. We were all trying to figure out if it was a joke, and when the punch line never came, the tears started to flow, faces fell, hearts sank. Confusion ensued. I’m still confused and unsure, I know I’m not the only one.

So what do I do when I’m hurt and confused and scared? I call my mom. She could hear it in my voice when I said hi, and she was patient while I tried to explain the situation that I didn’t even understand myself. I told her that I felt numb, that I didn’t even want to do anything for the rest of the day, despite plans having been made days in advance. I just wanted to sit and not do anything at all. But she told me no. That I had to get up and go out and get on with my plans, with my life. She said that even if I didn’t feel like it, I should go and not let it ruin my day. It started off positive, so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t end positive. And she was absolutely right.

There’s no reason things shouldn’t turn out positive, despite how heartsick and deeply hurt you are by the negative. Things happen for a reason, I’ve written that and said that many times before and will continue to do so because it’s a truth I stand by. Things happen for a reason, even if we don’t know what reason that’s for yet. Even if we can’t imagine how or why or what or when, things happen for a reason.

Expect nothing, prepare for anything. Tears threaten to fall when I write that because it is something that he lives by, that we’ve all learned from him. Expect nothing. Prepare for anything. We most definitely did not expect this, but because of what we’ve learned from him, from the family we’ve created, we are prepared to face this bravely and with integrity. Even if we don’t know why, we know that the decision was not made lightly. Even if we don’t yet understand why, we know that we will continue to thrive and build a new path together. That’s what family’s for.

We will miss you, Sir, and there will always be a place in our hearts for you. Body, Mind, and Spirit… the new logo came at an opportune time. It embodies not only what you’ve created, but the challenges faced and how we are to overcome this shift in balance. There will never be anyone that can replace you and the part you’ve held in our family for so many years, and I know no one will try. We wish you luck with your venture and look forward to hearing about the wonderful things you will accomplish in your life.

This isn’t goodbye.

It will never be goodbye.