Obituary for Travis C. Sutherland
"Each of us has our light, what makes us loving and lovable. Each of us has our dark places, how we grapple with fear and pain - which can make us unbearable at times, even to ourselves. We have our glory and our griminess. So when you think of the loved one who has passed, embrace the whole person" By Frank Ostaseski
Travis has finished his work here on Earth. He has left behind a legacy of love and courage for his family, friends and many interventionists who did their best to help him in their own well-intentioned ways.
Not ordinary, not average, by any stretch of the imagination, Travis chose to live an unconventional life that allowed him to remain true to what he valued most and that was his own ideal of personal freedom and the right of every individual to self-determination.
Frequently misunderstood, often considered to be selfish, Travis was most likely one of our greatest teachers. He loved us, those he left behind, more deeply and well than we could even conceive of because we were all so busy seeing the world, ours and his, from our own limited perspectives.
The courage he demonstrated in sacrificing his reputation, his good name, to teach us compassion and tolerance was rarely seen or understood for what it was. Travis eschewed comfort and convention to entreat us to love, not just the easily acceptable but all of it, everyone, the mainstream and the marginal alike.
He struggled, he faltered, but he always got back up and persisted, for us, in being a living example of what it means to be human and so often his beauty was overlooked, his inherent dignity was ignored as a world arrogant in its uncertainty of what is "right" and "good" attempted to dim his shining spirit.
Travis would not want us to waste time on regret but to honor his life, and his passing, by choosing love over being right and the pursuit of understanding for that which is different from us, or makes us uncomfortable, over judgement and condemnation.
Truly an angel struggling to be human, Travis is a blessing to us all!
"All the universe has come from love, and unto love all things return." Taittiriya Upanishad.
Travis has finished his work here on Earth. He has left behind a legacy of love and courage for his family, friends and many interventionists who did their best to help him in their own well-intentioned ways.
Not ordinary, not average, by any stretch of the imagination, Travis chose to live an unconventional life that allowed him to remain true to what he valued most and that was his own ideal of personal freedom and the right of every individual to self-determination.
Frequently misunderstood, often considered to be selfish, Travis was most likely one of our greatest teachers. He loved us, those he left behind, more deeply and well than we could even conceive of because we were all so busy seeing the world, ours and his, from our own limited perspectives.
The courage he demonstrated in sacrificing his reputation, his good name, to teach us compassion and tolerance was rarely seen or understood for what it was. Travis eschewed comfort and convention to entreat us to love, not just the easily acceptable but all of it, everyone, the mainstream and the marginal alike.
He struggled, he faltered, but he always got back up and persisted, for us, in being a living example of what it means to be human and so often his beauty was overlooked, his inherent dignity was ignored as a world arrogant in its uncertainty of what is "right" and "good" attempted to dim his shining spirit.
Travis would not want us to waste time on regret but to honor his life, and his passing, by choosing love over being right and the pursuit of understanding for that which is different from us, or makes us uncomfortable, over judgement and condemnation.
Truly an angel struggling to be human, Travis is a blessing to us all!
"All the universe has come from love, and unto love all things return." Taittiriya Upanishad.