2021-05-15 20:46:57 wrote:

One of my dearest friends has left this world. David Adam Lertzman, bard, singer, master musician, songwriter, teacher, martial artist, healer, herbalist, crystal man, animal rights activist, negotiator, lover, nurturer, father... He was a mentor to many, including myself and my son. “Davide” as we pronounced his name in Mediterranean fashion, or whimsically Dr David, was a radiant example of how to live well on Earth. He was a mensch. When he came into a room, he brought happiness. What I share here is filtered through my experiences, memories, perceptions. I knew David for 32 years. I spent time with him in Western Canada, Washington State, and Hawaii. All of these places had special colors in our shared experience. He was always a blessing to me and my family, we have many fond memories of him. He and I sometimes shared a case of foot in mouth disease. I’m trying to keep this brief, and vulnerable, but not too personal. We did get carried away on occasion! To David’s parents and family, Thank You for raising such a fine son! I’m sorry for your loss, in his prime, so cruel! To Sarah, Thank You for being a loving dedicated partner and Mother. Thank You for your strength, you are a woman of power! I’m sorry for your loss! To Glen and Mela, I’m most grieved to feel your loss! Your father was/is one of the finest people I’ve known, and his death can never make sense! I pray that your lives will be full of such love as he had/has for both of you! Throughout his sacred journey, he poured most of his life force, love, care and attention, into his family: Sarah, Glen and Mela. Now that he’s gone, we are gathering funds for the three of them. May they be held continually in a circle of love, light, and protection, by all who knew and loved this magnificent being. https://www.gofundme.com/f/loving-support-for-sarah-glen-mela To David’s colleagues, students and extended community: No words can be adequate, so I stumble along foolishly. I’m devastated. David was a treasure, an inspiration, an advocate for life, health, sanity. No one can fill his shoes, and so, we who remain have more to do to create a world such as he envisioned. I feel his death as a rip in the web of life. He would say, when we parted ways: “Circle of Love Light and Protection.” Now, his physical presence here is gone. I feel him still, but different now. A part of what he gave, continually, selflessly, is now gone. He could have been a professional musician, a clinical psychologist, medical doctor or acupuncturist. He had all of those aptitudes. He was a shaman, tho he might have been reluctant to say. He chose academia as his way to bridge traditional wisdom with modern living. He brought faerie medicine into the mainstream. He guidedHe guided MBA students on vision quests, helping them experience Earth as a living being. He traveled much, to the Amazon, to the Canadian north, where he supported traditional peoples in negotiating a fair deal for their resources. He learned their ways and languages as he went. He helped us white folks reconnect with our primal nature. He helped us to re-member that time is not money, and that land belongs to Earth. We can live lightly on it, never own, only borrow! He helped indigenous peoples try and make sense of the “time is money” world. As a musician, he was a true Bard. A master of ocarina, Native American flute, harmonica, many percussion instruments, he could weave a web of love while telling a story, accompanying himself on a small harp. He loved guitar, and had a rich resonant voice. He wrote many amazing songs, some of which he only performed many years ago. I hope that his music can receive the attention it deserves. As a martial artist and practitioner of qi gong, he also was an inspiration to me. That field was an area of ongoing discussion between us, which I will miss. He was my muse. Sometimes when I wrote, I wrote for him. He lived a heroic life. If you were troubled, or your life was in danger and he could help in a good way, he was there. He lived as he died, in love with nature! When I med David, I was a wild, fey young man. He had already mastered the art of living in the forest as a monk. I’m still working on it… He was a mentor to me in this regard. He was born two weeks before me in 1961. When I told him that he sometimes felt like an elder brother to me, he told me that he felt the same towards me. He loved solitary time in the woods. He told me of a time in the Stein Valley, alone, with bum knees and a sixty pound pack on his back, meeting a grizzly bear. He could only surrender, got down on his knees, bowed to the bear, and was bowed to in return. He was a rock of stability and hope for his wife and children, many friends, relations, and students. A grandfather oak in a vast ancient forest. Sometimes he was my muse. I wrote for him. He was a stable sounding board, both open minded and skeptical.Now, I sense him as a mountain of light! I met him in the summer/fall of 1989 at a gathering in support of Stein Valley old growth, and then at a similar gathering on Salt Spring Island. person we Y He was born about two weeks before me, May 15, 1961, in Winnipeg. (My birthday, 6/2/61, Kitimaat Village, Haisla First Nation, where my father was the United Church Minister). I was raised Christian, and he in the Jewish faith. We had a shared affinity for music, and global indigenous ways, including First Nations, European and Asian. We were both interweavers, syncretists, bringing different spiritual elements together to create something personal. He was more traditional than I. He had great honor for those who taught and initiated him. I learned to honor tradition partly through him. We were born in the Ox year, according to Chinese tradition. Now, in another Ox year, he is gone. Chinese tradition tells us that our animal year is a time of reevaluating our life process, and that we must be careful. His life was a beautiful artwork, and yet, he had so many things in progress! I wish for his legacy to be known, inspiring and useful to many. May his life bear good fruit for times to come. “Gifts from the Goddess” he would say when I shared an apple with him. “Young men dream dreams.” When I met him, around 32 years ago, I was wild, shattered, out of control. We both embodied similar love of nature, music and culture, but, he had boundaries. We recognized each other’s dreaming, and bonded in mutual support. David was well measured. Before age 30, he already knew how to live as a monk, which I am still learning, albeit slowly. His example has helped me. , and he loved bears. In my world, David was an icon. Losing him is on a par with the death of John Lennon, he had that big an impact on my life. The emotional impact is similar. People of my generation will understand. This is a 9 on the Richter scale, a huge hole in the fabric of my reality. This winter, when I told him that I have often looked to him as an elder brother, he replied that he has often felt the same towards me! He had that kind of honor towards many people. He was able and open to learn from many, a true scholar in the Confucian sense. The last message I received from him was on Earth Day: “Happy (every day should be) Earth Day!” Thanks David, for a rich lifelong conversation! I’m grateful that I had the pleasure to sing with you! Grief at your untimely departure is measureless, I’ll sing it out as I go. “Live in us, we live in you, live through us, we live through you, Heart Beat Drum calls the power through, answer the call of Mother Earth!” Song: Voices of Mother Earth, through David Adam Lertzman. “For David!” Goodbye Holy Brother! All My Relations! If you would like to contribute to the fundraiser for David’s and wife and children, here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/loving-support-for-sarah-glen-mela