Laurie Andersons Farewell to Lou Reed Last spring, at the last minute, he received a liver transplant, which seemed to work perfectly, and he almost instantly regained his health and energy. Then that, too, began to fail, and there was no way out. But when the doctor said, Thats it. We have no more options, the only part of that Lou heard was options – he didnt give up until the last half-hour of his life, when he suddenly accepted it – all at once and completely. We were at home – Id gotten him out of the hospital a few days before – and even though he was extremely weak, he insisted on going out into the bright morning light. As meditators, we had prepared for this – how to move the energy up from the belly and into the heart and out through the head. I have never seen an expression as full of wonder as Lous as he died. His hands were doing the water-flowing 21-form of tai chi. His eyes were wide open. I was holding in my arms the person I loved the most in the world, and talking to him as he died. His heart stopped. He wasnt afraid. I had gotten to walk with him to the end of the world. Life – so beautiful, painful and dazzling – does not get better than that. And death? I believe that the purpose of death is the release of love.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 09:11:14 +0000