From the Memorial Service April 11, 2019

 

King of hearts

Zappo Diddio

​

Our devastating loss comes, in part, with the understanding that Mischa, in his body, as we knew him, is no longer a part of our physical world and there will never be another like him in our lives. There will never be someone to make us laugh the way he made us laugh or make us love the way he made us love. And although it is most certainly a heart shattering concept to think that we will live out the rest of our days without such a presence as this beautiful friend to so many, it is important to remember that his spirit is not lost from the everything. In fact it is shared with the everything. Somewhere, sometime, the spirit of this fantastic juggling, singing, smiling acrobat will land into the lives of other folks who need his light as much and probably more than we needed it. After all, we have each other where so many have none. And he will continue his work in that space, in that time, where a spirit once known as Mischa is most needed. God bless the continued path of this brilliant spirit. And God bless the countless hearts left aching here, needing comfort and soothing. May we be this medicine for one another in the days and years to come.

 

A Teacher.

Zappo Diddio

 

What might it feel like to open our hearts, and minds and bodies in the way this young man opened his. To feel every joy and every pain in such fullness. Our laughter could shake mountains, and our tears fill seas. If we were to love a child the way the child loves us, with adoring admiration and respect and awe. We might be called to frolic upon grassy lawns in the mystic light of golden sunsets with giggling children and their twirling scarves, and then to wander into darkness and seek out the afflicted and the alone, the lost and the damaged and sit with them in their broken stillness or scream with them in their terror. To humble ourselves in the every accomplishment of our friends. Large or small. Concept or masterpiece. Lifting our loved ones on high with praise and encouragement.

What would it mean to the world if we were to learn from this beautiful human being and truly move forward in his teaching and inspiration. The light of our smiles could inspire revolution. The weight of our thoughtful intelligence heavy enough to quiet every chaos. What if we took his lessons into our hearts the way he easily welcomed each and every one of us into his own, and we actually made a direct navigational shift in our course. Is this loving teacher not every bit as worthy of statues and monuments as those that stand upon steps and plazas across this earth. What might it feel like to carry the burden of his deep feeling upon our shoulders, and begin this longest of journeys from our minds down into our hearts. And there, in these deep and quiet chambers we might begin to build a temple in his name, where we can hold not only to his memory but we can also embrace his tremendous passion in the way we once held his full chest to our own.

In his final act, our Love has exited the stage, leaving only quiet shadows, a vacant spotlight and a stunned crowd. Unsure if the show has ended. Or might this brilliant artist have left the curtain raised as an invitation for the seated watchers to step up onto the platform of spectacular creativity and improvisational kindness? Where thinking gets in the way of thought and the answer is always yes, here and now and forevermore, we are invited to join one another in that light.

So Sorry

Zappo Diddio

 

I am so sorry for the child that you lost

So sorry for the brother that you lost

So sorry for the friend that you lost

so sorry for the lover that you’ve lost

 

But now he's everywhere,

Always near.

On every breath of wind

His Spirit whispers in your ear.

 

So remember to listen

When the birds sing their song.

Because it might be Mischa

Coming back home

 

I am so sorry for the child that you lost

So sorry for the brother that you lost

So sorry for the friend that you lost

Yet I won’t feel sorry for no love can be lost

 

Beautiful light

We used to see in his eyes.

Well that light still shines

Now we see it in the sunrise.

 

And there are whales in the water

And he's swimming right beside.

If you listen close to the sound of the waves

singing “mama don’t cry.”

​

We will not feel sorry for the child is not lost

No we won’t feel sorry for the brother is not lost

Can’t feel sorry for the friend is never lost

No we won't feel sorry for no love can be lost