On this day, March 12th one year ago, my brother Geoff completed his adventure here on earth and passed into eternity; he was just two weeks shy of 58.
It was one of those days that leaves you reeling and exhausted, spent of every resource. But it was also a day full with love, reassurance, faith, hope, and promise.
Thinking back, March 12 2012 makes the headlines for me not just in terms of poignancy and grief, but also as a transformational experience that is now an important chapter of my story, my testimony, my journey along the road less traveled by.
And so today, rather than shed fresh tears for the loss of my brother, I want to pause and give thanks for just a few of the signal characteristics that made Geoff Maul a larger than life personality (I’m not saying these were always fully appreciated, but they remain as gifts nonetheless!):
- his capacity to love;
- his enthusiasm for experience;
- his boundless determination to never miss anything;
- his incomprehensible sudden detours;
- his quest for authenticity in relationships;
- his willingness to learn;
- his unrelenting belief in the people he loved;
- his insistence that the wide range of people he loved somehow come together;
- his refusal to compromise;
- his over-the-top sense of drama;
- his unreasonable generosity;
- his dogged belief in the next great idea…
Today I am deeply grateful for my family, and I am keenly aware of how temporary life can be. And so, in light of that truth, may we all live this day with purpose, love, and enthusiasm. May we all engage life like we mean it, because anything else is a poor response to this most amazing gift and irreplaceable opportunity.
In love, and because of love – DEREK
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