Koko the Weaver

My dearest of friends, Koko, passed suddenly and unexpectedly on September 19, 2012.  Each day I wake up and have to remind myself that yes, she is really gone from her physical body.  I cannot imagine my world without her.

I met Koko my second time to Glastonbury, England.  She owned a B&B and I stayed there every time I returned over the next 5 years.  She always told the story of how I arrived over her door step, dropped my bags and called "Koko..I'm home!".  And whenever I was with Koko I did feel that I was at home.

We traveled together to Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall.  Twice she came to visit me in Oregon and we traveled through Oregon, California and spent a memorable week in Sedona, AZ.  In Cornwall we camped in her "condo" tent (it had a separate bedroom on each side of the tent and was large enough to cook in!).  Koko always traveled in style :).

But the thing I remember most is how she walked all those many lands we traveled.  Every step she took was sacred.  She walked in Beauty.  Countless times we would stop and create a ceremony honoring Mother Earth.  We created a labyrinth on the beaches of Ireland.  While we were in Sedona every day was a different ceremony.  Once she picked me up at the bus station in Bristol, England and before long we stopped at a cave along the road side to drum, tone and honor the Land.  Everywhere we went was a sacred pilgrimage for Koko.  She showed me her world and then shared it with me.

She was also a Weaver of people.  While sitting at her kitchen table I met people from around world.  I met people from South Africa, Wales, Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland and the United States.  We all congregated at Koko's table and all of our lives were impacted.

She woke up each day like a kid, ready to embrace whatever magic the day held.  And she in turn created magic out of each day.

It is not often you meet someone who changes your life forever, in such a profound way.  But that is who Koko was, to everyone she met.  My heart deeply feels her passing but I know she will always be with me, my constant traveling companion.

In Ireland with Koko (second from right)