JOAN LEBACH—Aureet's funeral - January 9, 1991
There didn't seem to be any justice…that one person should have so much…beauty, brilliance, heartfulness, soulfulness, and playfulness. O.K., and willfulness too. Also, come from a close, supportive, loving family. What's too much is really too much!
I couldn't help but fall in love with Aureet the first time I met her back in 1981, her vibrant energy, foxy spirit, and compassion were all out there. She was captivatingly open - strong and vulnerable. She shared her feelings; joys, wounds, and essence. That first time we met we talked for seven hours straight; until 1:00 A.M. Strangely enough, Aureet was "the other woman" Steve had left me for, but how could you not adore her? She was so intensely full of life and love.
It felt like we were "sisters under the skin," and for a long time it seemed as if we were "glued at the hip." However, Graduate School and dissertation didn't help to make that any too easy.
Aureet saw the basics and complexities of life. She was an idealist and a realist; anything was possible. She could make miracles happen. Who else graduates Number One from Boston University School of Education? Who else graduates at 27 years old from Harvard and has their Doctoral Thesis published? Who else takes a theory in psychology and transforms it to the next level yielding generic change? She helped people get in touch with their resources, their creativity, and connect to the center of their being. She has helped people explore life and make changes in their life that they didn't think were possible. She helped them to believe in themselves while getting support from others. She hung in there with them and helped many of us. She could be tenacious and stubborn. Sometimes she gave too much and didn't protect herself enough. She was learning. She was comfortable with all kinds of people; she experienced all kinds of life.
There was a picture that Aureet once drew which showed the intensity of the sun. It was surrounded by facets of colors, revealing the multi-dimensions of life. The colors surrounded the sun and rose to the heavens and reached into the depths below. She had the energy of the sun she drew. She also liked the symbol of the butterfly for transformations.
Yet, luckily, Aureet wasn't too good to be true. She didn't even know how beautiful or brilliant she was and she could angst like the best of us.
When I think of Aureet, I will look at all she loved; her family, her friends, people, animals, nature, the sun, the sky, dancing and prancing, walking, helping others, helping herself, art, yacking and the days of old.
Her love of life will be with me. I'm reminded of a poem an elderly woman wrote where she looks back at her life regretting that she didn't take her shoes off and run wildly in the grass, or laugh enough, or take more risks, or be silly and indifferent, etc. She cautions us to do these things. Aureet, luckily, knew all this and acted accordingly. Aureet lived a long life; not in terms of years, but in terms of fullness, knowing how to be conventional and unconventional, and in terms of doing and experiencing.
