In December, 2013, I used this space to tell you about my friend, Lisa Adams. I got so many wonderful notes about this post, and I’m grateful that so many of you took the time to have a read of Lisa’s blog.

One week ago, Lisa died. I saw the news on Saturday morning, and while she prepared us all for it as well as anyone could, it has left me with an even greater sense of loss than I had anticipated.

One of the conversations (via instant message) with Lisa that I will always remember was about our shared experience of someone close to us dying but remaining an intricate part of our makeup. I told her about the picture of my mother, who died when I was a child, that watches over my desk. She shared memories of her mother-in-law. Lisa touched so many people deeply, and she will remain with us all too.

Lisa also left us a powerful legacy through her writing. I would encourage you to read some or all of it. I’ll leave you with the message she repeated often recently, and which I’ll never forget:

“Find a bit of beauty in the world today. Share it. If you can’t find it, create it. Some days this may be hard to do. Persevere.”