a FEAST of LOVE.
2012 © COPYRIGHT KAJAL DHABALIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
feast |fēst| noun: a large meal, typically one in celebration of something.
love |ləv| noun: an intense feeling of deep affection: babies fill parents with intense feelings of love.
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Today I spent the day with my mom cooking and making all of my Dad’s favorites foods because tomorrow we’re having some friends join us for an evening of chanting from the heart, followed by a big Indian dinner…
it will be a feast of LOVE in honor of my father, Dilip M. Dhabalia.
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February 25, 2012 marks the 7 year anniversary of my Dad passing away….in some ways it feels like just yesterday and in other ways it feels like it’s been so much longer than that. In the Indian culture feeding people and sharing memories of your loved ones, every year on their birthday as well as the day they passed is really important. They say that often the energy of that love can reach the soul wherever they are on their next lifetime’s journey and it helps them in moving on….not to mention it’s always a comforting and helpful thing to do for those of us left behind.
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My Dad was a pretty happy soul, despite the depression/ bi-polar illness he battled for a large part of his life…you could always find him with a smile on his face and his hand extended out to help others. He was the one person I always wanted to talk to first when I had a bad day…he had an extra special way of listening; reassuring you that everything was going to be A-okay and cheering you up by reminding you that he loved you more than anything else in the world.
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He was a true lover of food and trying all things new (he was so ahead of the times in this area!), he was a big fan of the Rocky Mountains and outdoor picnics all year-long and he honestly had a heart of gold that always shined so bright. He made your pain his pain and your joy his joy…he was one of the kindest souls I’ve ever known.
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My Dad’s motto in life was “Let’s celebrate”….so whether we got an A on a report card, we won or lost our student council elections or we did something exciting for the first time…it was the perfect day to celebrate….He had an amazing ability to make the ordinary extraordinary. He could see beauty and joy in the everyday moments that are all too often easy to overlook.
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Life is so short, yet it’s so easy to take our relationships and friendships for granted, especially when life gets busy and the drama of everyday living gets intense. Sometimes I feel so sad because as time passes and we get busy in our lives I feel like I forget what it was like to have him in my life… time has a funny way of making things fade. Yet, I think of him often and miss him daily…I wish he was here to celebrate with, to meet my husband, to laugh with and most importantly, to talk with about the everyday stuff that I now get to deal with as an adult. He had an uncanny ability of helping put things in perspective, no matter how overwhelming or scary something seemed to be.
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So, especially tomorrow, here’s to you Dad…I love you and miss you so much, and feel so fortunate to have had such a remarkable soul as my father. I’m sorry we couldn’t have shared more memories or moments together, yet I know you’re still guiding me and sharing in my joys, sorrows and everything I do.
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In celebration of
Dilip M. Dhabalia
a true friend, loving father and devoted husband
This is so beautiful Kajal….having lost a parent not too long ago, I feel and understand the emptiness you feel. May God’s and Guru’s grace guide his soul.
Take care, Deepa
Thanks Deepaben. Yes, there’s nothing that replace that place in our heart that is can only be occupied by our parents. Only thing that helps is time and grace from up above.
Love you! Sita Ram!
Kajal, this is such a beautiful tribute to your father! It sounds like he was an incredible person with a big heart. I’m sorry that I never had the opportunity to meet him. It took me many years to recover from my mom’s passing, and I wish I had known about the “feast of love” back then. What a wonderful way of remembering our closest loved ones. You have very good karma in that your parents were/are so awesome and they are fortunate to have you! Sita Ram and much love…
Thanks Lillian, you are so sweet! You can still do the Feast of Love….there’s no time limits with LOVE.