No matter your age, gender, ethnicity, etc. it’s important to have a tribe. I’m a fiber artist so I love all things fiber. One of the community website is the Men Who Knit (MWK), www.menwhoknit.com, website. Male knitters from around the globe post pictures of their work, ask technical questions and share resources. Little did any of us know that we’d be sharing more than just knitting. A young man known to us as Jason1978 shared in the spring that he was fighting metastatic testicular cancer. His positive attitude was infectious and we all believed he’d be able to fight the illness. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and Jason died this past weekend.
What amazed me was not only his own positive attitude, but the well wishes and healing energy sent to Jason from the entire MWK community. Once Jason’s partner posted the notice about his death I would visit the post to see who had responded and overwhelmingly the words were gentle, kind and full of love. They offered comfort and support to his partner Jonathan who was with him till the end. The frightening part of all this is that Jason was only 30 and his partner Jonathan a mere 22.
We’re never prepared for people to die much less die at such and early age. It’s amazing that his caregiver/wellness partner is so young and so ready to take his place beside someone he loved. Having a community that continuously check in and wants to know how you’re doing, even when the news isn’t good is powerful. It brings you out of the depths of isolation and fills your soul with a sense of belonging. Knowing that you are in the consciousness of others means you have touched their hearts and tattooed your name and your energy in their soul.
It’s sad that such a young life ended. I commend the Men Who Knit community for being ready to support Jason every step of the way. They even put out a call for knitted squares that were sewn together to make a healing blanket for him. Once all the squares were in and the blanket completed it was shipped to Jason in Vienna. The global community heard the call and responded. Isn’t that the type of community you want for yourself when facing a health challenge? Seek it out and feel the love; it will do you a world of good and will brighten even the darkest days.
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 