When Your Heart Breaks Open
Published on 30 Jul 2010 at 9:58 am.
8 Comments.
Filed under Feature Articles, Personal Development Strategies, Spirituality & Inspiration.
Yesterday morning when I went on Facebook, I opened a message that said my friend Ira Streitfeld had suddenly died from a heart attack. My mouth dropped and within a second I was sobbing. He was so young….
I first met Ira via email last October, 2009. He was the PR person for Dr. Eric Pearl who is renowned for his ground breaking healing work called, The Reconnection. I had never heard of Eric and I was intrigued by Ira’s email asking if I would be open to interview Eric on my Compelling Conversations program. So I called Ira and we had a wonderfull conversation that lasted well over an hour.
It was an instant connection. You know that kind that feels like you are speaking to an old friend even if you just met them. That’s how it felt with Ira. His warmth and authenticity was refreshing and we laughed and talked like we had known each other for years. You couldn’t help liking Ira. He was and is a good-hearted loving man and soul whose life touched many people all over the world just be being who he was.
Several months later I interviewed Eric and again I felt an immediate connection to him. I had a ball in our conversation and I also felt like I was speaking to an old friend. It was wonderfull to feel that with two people who also worked together.
Throughout this year, Ira and I stayed connected through emails and by phone. Contact with him always brought a smile and a great warmth in my heart like I just got hugged.
I just spoke to Ira a two weeks ago….
When I interviewed Eric this past Wednesday on my 3-week tele-summit, he was fabulous, as always. He had already gotten the news that Ira had died and he showed up as the amazing professional he is. At the end of the call, he asked me to call him because he wanted to speak to me about something.
He wanted to tell me about Ira.
When I read the news on FB, I called Eric with my condolences and I couldn’t stop crying. When we spoke later in the day yesterday, the tears flowed again.
What surprised me the most was the depth of my grief. Ira was a friend and the sadness I feel is as if he was one of my closest and dearest friends. I can still feel the tears welling up as I think about him as I write.
My dear friend Anita helped to shed light on my sadness.
When you open your heart to love - to love others and yourself you cannot help by being touched by the world. Loving and grieving isn’t dependent on the depth of a relationship to feel a loss - it’s more about having your heart open to love.
I’ve always been a crier when it comes to anything love related. I can cry as easily at a commercial as I can in reading a book or watching a movie. I keep Kleenex with me at all times as Linus keeps his blanket. I never know when something will touch my heart. What has changed for me is that my heart has become more open to people and allowing the love in more fully without needing to protect my heart as much as I used to for fear of getting hurt from past experiences.
Love is our natural state. To keep love at a distance is unnatural to the essence of who we are and why we are here - to be love, to give and receive love…..Love brings vibrancy and aliveness to our lives. We need love as surely as we need the air to breathe. Without love we shrivel and die inside.
No matter how many special moments we have wiith loved ones, when they pass we always wish for more especially when we have shared unconditional love. Cherish each moment with those you hold dear. They are gifts and blessings. Savor them because they will last you a lifetime and beyond…. and they will leave you wanting more …to have more loving memories and experiences with many special people in your life.
Thank you Ira! Thank you for gracing my life with your loving presence and beautiful heart. My life is richer because you were in it. And I know that wherever you are in your travels with Source, you are spreading the love!
Rock on my friend! Until we meet again…
Blessings,
Lorraine
Kathleen Gage on 30 Jul 2010 at 12:35 pm: 1
Dear Lorraine. I know how deeply you connect with your friends as I have had the honor of knowing I am among this amazing group of people. I send my heartfelt love to you during this time of loss and grief.
lorraine on 30 Jul 2010 at 12:47 pm: 2
Thank you my friend. You know that my friends are family and I have been blessed to have the most incredible people in my life - like you.
Much love to you Kathy
Bel on 30 Jul 2010 at 6:21 pm: 3
I know, I found myself devastated at his loss as well. Ira was one of my first friends when I moved to Portland as well as a trusted go to person for the best of the best guests on my show.
This week, I will remember him on my show..but my heart will always remember, that smile, those eyes with the sparkle and the hugs that you often wished would never end.
I wonder if he knew just how he touched every person he ever encountered. He was truly loved…I guess that is all any of us can hope for when we leave this world is to be truly loved….
lorraine on 31 Jul 2010 at 7:53 pm: 4
Dear Bel
Thank you for your comments. I am finally finding the sadness beginning to lift. I too hope that when I leave this world I will have touched many lives and that peole will think of me with love.
May the heaviness in your heart lift in perfect timing.
Blessings,
Lorraine
Mike P. on 4 Aug 2010 at 1:20 am: 5
I just wanted to say that I am terribly sorry to hear this news. Ira has been one of our store’s favorite customers for at least 8 years now. I, personally, have seen him several times a week for the last two years, and hearing of his untimely passing has saddened us greatly. He is a wonderful man and will be missed. My condolences to his friends and family.
Shelley Sinclair (Postal Annex) on 4 Aug 2010 at 2:16 am: 6
What a wonderful and loving tribute to a special man. I met Ira three years ago, while I was working at the Postal Store he frequented. He was a regular and it didn’t take long for me to realize what a wonderful human being he is. We always spent time talking, he told me about exciting things happening in his life, and he always brought holiday treats for the troops at our store during the busy season. Ira will be sorely missed.
Rest Easy Ira.
lorraine on 4 Aug 2010 at 7:32 am: 7
How fortunate that you were able to meet Ira in person Shelley.
And I continually her how he really took the time to speak with people. That factor alone set him apart from so many.
Yes, he will be dearly missed.
lorraine on 4 Aug 2010 at 7:34 am: 8
Hey Mike
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. He touched many lives and we all share the sadness of his passing.
Many blessings to you