Dear Mark, I trust you know what a cherished friend (and brother) you are to @girlbeforemirror. For this, I am grateful to you. I've learned about her story, including the hardships in her current life situation, and I've seen the way she views you as a key figure in the story she shares. I feel that you are a vital source of Light in her life. For this, I am beyond grateful. I am moved to action: Writing to thank you, to wish you well, to acknowledge you for bearing that Light. For her, for you, for all of us. Thank you again.
I feel sorry for your losses. I can't even imagine the heaviness you must've encountered in this life. I'm stretching now, trying to fathom how you've managed to hold that Light for so long, for your sister here. I get the feeling you have a Light in your life too, and I wonder if it's the music you play. I understand how healing music can be. I understand the way it lifts us. I believe I can understand how meaningful it must've been to put your bass down, recently, symbolically silencing the music in you. I can understand how meaningful it might be to pick your bass up again, and blast it aloud.
Wherever you're at in the process of being a Light, thank you once more. Personally, I'm learning to follow the example of the Sun and focus my rays into potent beams, even when I feel a bit dim. I'm learning from the Moon, and holding a glow. I'm looking to the Stars, and seeing that they enjoy being seen. Also, I'm noticing that the state of Lightness is a double-meaning: (1) luminance; and (2) airiness. I'm wondering why our language allows for luminosity and density to be unified by this one word: Lightness; and I'm coming to the conclusion that it's supposed to be that way. With all the heaviness and darkness in this world, it fills me up with joy to recognize a person like you, who makes things Lighter. My wish for you, Mark, is that you can feel and sense and see your own Lightness.
And on the subject of Sun, Moon, Stars, and music: