This is a famous song "Va Pensiero/Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from the opera Nabucco by none other than Giuseppe Verdi. This is a biblical piece about King Nebuchadnezzar. This is the song of the Hebrew slaves sang in Babylon. Its also based on famous Psalms 137. By the river of Babylon. I love this song. My favorite story about this song is that when beloved Verdi died, hundreds and thousands of Italians gathered together and sang this song to honor their great composer. I could only imagine how moving that might have been.
This past weekend I might have experienced one of the most beautiful experience in my life. My friend who passed away was cremated and the ashes were spread in the ocean. I have never been to a spreading of the ashes before and did not know what it was going to be like. It was a perfect day. On the way out to the ocean, dolphins were swimming next to us.
pic by Julian
We went about 3 miles into the ocean. There was a sense of tranquility and peace. I would say that it was down right spiritual. As they lowered the basket with his ashes and as the the ashes were in the water, it almost seemed like his spirit was being freed into the ocean. It was beautiful.
Peter Lee made a tremendous impact in my life. While we were going out into the ocean, me and couple of friends were sharing great memories about Peter. This ceremony was therapeutic. Not sure about how you all want to be remembered. But the last memory I have of Peter will always be this peaceful scene in the ocean on a perfect day.