One thing I have realized over time, through the ecstatic highs and the deepest lows, is that we never know what the next minute, the next hour or the next day will bring. We can predict and expect, but, ultimately, factors out of our control can create significant change—sometimes joy, sometimes tragedy.

Sadly, it was the latter that sent me on the path I will share in this story. There was a crash of a private plane and in an instant, a close childhood friend of mine lost her two sons, her future daughter-in-law and their father (her ex-husband). Four people she loved and cared for, gone in an instant—there are no words to define the depths of this abyss.

Her older sister, and another close friend happened to be in Denver, where I live, when it happened. As we talked through the night, we found ourselves pulled back to memories of our childhood together, when we talked about our lives, who we would marry, the possibility of children, what our interests were, and the paths our grown-up lives would take. The innocence of childhood ensured it would all work out.

And, of course, our lives didn’t go as planned. Where do you start with a tragedy of this magnitude? How is it possible to provide solace?

You start, and stay, with love and kindness, especially from the community you have gathered during your life. As the messages and calls started pouring in to my friend, it became even clearer that kindness is what matters and what gets us through the chaos of life. Do we risk loss when we love? Absolutely. Would we do it again knowing it may be taken away?

I love the Garth Brooks’ song about a dance with someone who was loved and then lost. "...Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I would have missed the dance.”

This blog is dedicated to the dances of life and the community of dancers in them. Thank you for sending love and kindness to this family—you are exactly what they need.