The Empty/Magic Chair

The Empty  Magic Chair

With the holidays lurking around the corner, we are reminded of the celebrations that we will miss with our loved ones who have past.  It can be extremely painful.  This is the time of year when I start to hear about "The Empty Chair".  It is a chair that is placed at the table in honor of our lost loved one.  Last year at this time, I was pondering the idea of setting a place for my amazing grandson. 

As some of you know, my precious grandson, Dylan Skye, was only 6 and one-half when he died suddenly on December 15, 2012.  To my amazement, he made his first afterlife communication with me as I sat down to write his eulogy.  He continues to impart his words of wisdom that are well beyond his tender age.  

Dylan let me know that he was not in favor of "The Empty Chair".  What does the word empty mean?  Lacking, containing nothing, despair, desertion, abandonment, vacant, void, depleted.  Is this the mood or vibration we wish to create when thinking of our loved ones?  We do desire to keep them in mind and spirit during these times.  

Dylan reminded me of the "Magic Chair" we had sitting in the dining room next to the foosball table.  He used to stand on it to be able to reach the game.  There it stood for the last four years.  Not moving or getting used.  This was a chair his grandfather and I had bought for our grandsons on craigslist.  It was not only a wooden chair with animals engraved in it, but if you flipped the back over, it converted to steps.  The boys had spend many happy times eating, doing the dishes, cooking and playing foosball on this chair.  

Not only did we need to use it again, but we needed to use that energy to place our "Magic Chair" at the table to remember and celebrate.  Now, think what the word magic brings to mind.  Infinite possibilities, things happening that might surprise us, wonder, attraction, joy, awe, hope, delight and amazement. Not that long ago, a phone in our pocket that had so many uses might have seemed magical.  Now, it is an everyday event that some of us can't imagine living without.  Dylan wanted us to set out the magic chair and share stories, speak his name, laugh and make new memories but remember he is still with us.  

Well, we got much more then we thought we would when we moved that "Magic Chair" into the kitchen.  For one,  as other family members with small children came to visit, they too enjoyed the "Magic Chair" which made new memories and reminded us of old ones.  The chair has claimed a permanent place in the kitchen.  Whether it is at the table or against the wall, the "Magic Chair" is now enjoyed on a daily basis, during regular meals, times when we are playing games, doing art projects and cooking. We enjoy the great feeling that the chair is emitting.  It reminds us that we don't need special occasions to celebrate and feel our loved ones.  It's also not so much about the ability of the chair to physically change.  Any chair will do.  It's about the energy, thought and intention that goes into the placing of the chair.  

Dylan says, "Don't put out a chair to remember that we are gone, missing and not able to attend these moments. I want my chair to be filled with hope, magic and love with enough to share with everyone. I am there. I will teach my family to learn a new way of thinking and feeling and it will become as natural as sitting on a chair. A "Magic Chair" where many dreams can come true and I will be right beside all of you as you share this with anyone that will listen.  Look for my signs and spread the word. My loved one shines on!

Thank you Dylan Skye!