You are enough. You have purpose.

This is my dear friend Chuk Lame Crow. I don't know who the photographer is that created this, but I know it was shot in the Temple of Grace at Burning Man in 2014. I just learned yesterday that Chuk passed on a week ago. I was not prepared for that news last night and it wrecked me.

Some people are special to us because we've spent years with them and they know us like nobody else could. I've probably spent a sum total of 8 hours talking with Chuk and I feel about him like people I've known all my life. The combination of the timing of meeting him and the human he was, had a massive impact on my life and inspired a lot of what I am doing today.

Chuk was a longtime Temple Guardian at Burning Man and one of the first people I met in Guardian Camp at my first burn in 2014. He immediately recognized the sea of grief roiling beneath my surface. He welcomed me with a big hug every day as he did everyone. He and I both had roof top tents on our rigs and that got us talking right away. It didn't take long for him to call me out. I cried on him a lot and he let me do so without trying to console me or solve my problems. He was a shining example of empathy and one I aspire to everyday. He defined the spirit of a Temple Guardian, one that holds space for another.

Through the conversations and tears he managed to weave two significant messages into my heart. Firstly, that I was enough just as I was. Secondly, that my life still had purpose. Both were things I was a million miles away from accepting at the time. But, I eventually got there and sure enough, he was right.

It was clear he knew how I was feeling because he too had had similar experiences. He assured me that in a few years time, so long as I had the courage to embrace change and seek my heart's true purpose, I would come to a blessed place of gratitude and joy. He would sit across from me and put his forehead against mine and I would cry, deeply. He understood my pain and welcomed the chance to help me let some out. Chuk was as sweet as a human could ever hope to be.

I learned so much about empathy from him in those moments. Amazingly, I witnessed him doing the same for many others both in camp as well as in the Temple. This was a man who knew his purpose and embraced it with exceptional heart and balance.

I saw Lame Crow again at the 2015 burn and when he passed through Seattle in September of 2018. It was a thrill to share with him what my experiences in life and at Burning Man had inspired me to do. The last time I saw him he told me he was excited for and proud of me. I'll never forget his last hug and him saying, "See? I told you you'd find your way!". Indeed I have Chuk, and you were a huge part of guiding me.

I love you Lame Crow. See you on the other side Brother.