'Our own Donald'
In many Buddhist traditions it is customary to mark the 49th day after death. Today is the 49th day since we lost Donald Eadie, a treasured member of our little team of Moxafrica trustees.
His funeral, which was attended by many, was a very powerful event. There is a link to the funeral service which has already been watched by hundreds of people unable to attend the event themselves - (63) Funeral of Rev'd Donald Eadie - YouTube
The last time we saw him (the evening before he died) Donald was very weak and was only able to manage three or four words at a time before running out of breath. Both his heart and kidneys were failing him and the doctors didn't want to resort to dialysis to replace the failing kidney function because they didn't think his heart would take it. But (so typically) despite his weakness, he was still wanting to know how things were with Moxafrica.
We know that he has left a hole in many, many peoples’ lives simply because he touched so many peoples’ hearts over the years in such special ways. He’s certainly left a hole in ours.
Almost all of his working life Donald was a Methodist Minister, but others’ different doctrines or religions never bothered him (‘be real, don’t be religious!’ was one of his mottos). What made him so special was his intense interest in what fired anyone's authentic individual human spirit whatever their belief (or lack of belief) – and again and again we witnessed how interested he was in every single individual who crossed his path!
Both moxa and Moxafrica held a very special place in Donald’s heart. Back in 2008 we asked him if he would consider becoming a trustee for the charity and he agreed instinctively. The trickier technicalities both of moxa therapy and of drug-resistant disease held little interest to him (though the injustices which underlie the ongoing TB pandemic outraged him). What really fired his imagination about Moxafrica, though, was moxa’s potential to heal in the most neglected corners of our world.
Just three days before he died he wrote this to us - how moxa reminded him “of our essential interconnectedness, interdependence with all humanity… Moxa the little herb from China links us all. This has become very significant for me.”
Words like ‘interconnectedness’ and ‘interdependence’ were bywords for him. He was particularly fascinated by how moxa might ‘cross-indigenise’ and so join people together – passing from one culture (East Asian) through another (Western) to a third (African) and he was keen to see what magic might occur along the way. “Trust in the unfolding” he encouraged us on several occasions when things were particularly challenging.
On this 49th day we feel it appropriate to share a song clip in honour of Donald.
In Gaelic the song is entitled Mo Dhòmhnallan Fhèin – which in English means 'My own Donald' - but Donald was, of course, ‘Everyone’s Donald' – his family’s; his many congregations’ over the years; his many, many, many friends’; and (of course) ours as well.
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The song is not a lament as would be most suitable (it’s actually a love song), but it is both very beautiful and profoundly melancholy and so suits the moment especially as it has helped us process our loss.
May Donald now be resting in the Peace and Love that was always so important to him. And may he be free of the worries and woes of our broken world which he cared so much about and so frequently grieved for.
Goodbye Donald. Thank you for touching our hearts with your vibrant and inspirational humanity. We will do our best to continue to trust in the ongoing providential unfoldings of 'the little herb from China' in your honour.
