As the search for Lotus percussionist Chuck Morris and his son, Charley Morris, continues after the two were reported missing following a kayaking excursion on Beaver Lake near Fayetteville, AR on Thursday, March 16th, founding Lotus guitarist Michael Rempel has shared an emotional open letter to Chuck.

“Dear Chuck,” the note begins, “Where are you? I love you so much. It is painful to be sitting here in the unknown. How are we to be with such news as this: *Chuck and Charley went kayaking and didn’t return.* … My mind churns between the best and the worst case scenarios. My mind is a story-making machine in it’s natural and understandable desire for answers. Yet answers are not forthcoming.”

Rempel, who left Lotus in 2021 to pursue a career in wellness and mindfulness education, continues by pondering what Chuck might have said in this heart-wrenching situation: “I imagine that you would wish us to be comforted rather than contorted in pain. I imagine that you would wish something like, ‘Just be there for each other. Let this moment be a heart-centered moment. May this moment remind you of the preciousness of life. May your fears and your tears bring you more deeply into your humanity and clarify your vision such that you clearly see the beauty that is your existence.’ That’s how I imagine your wish for us – all of us that love you.”

He continues, “At this moment, when accepting the reality of your disappearance feels impossible, I want to honor you by becoming more fully alive, more wild, more innocent, and more loving. My grief is so immense, I could cry a river of tears. I choose to feel it fully, and in doing so, I feel more fully here, more fully human, and more in touch with what matters most in this short life. In my love for you, I recognize my love for all of life, and my love for you will never diminish no matter how this thing turns out. … If you and Charley do not return to us in the way that we hope, I pray that all of us – we who love you – will find our own way home into our heart of hearts as a way to honor you and celebrate the immense light you’ve brought into this world.”

Click below to read the full letter from Michael Rempel to Chuck Morris and his son.

Dear Chuck,

Where are you?

I love you so much. It is painful to be sitting here in the unknown. How are we to be with such news as this: *Chuck and Charley went kayaking and didn’t return.*

My mind churns between the best and the worst case scenarios. My mind is a story-making machine in it’s natural and understandable desire for answers. Yet answers are not forthcoming.

So all of us – all of us that love you – have no choice but to be with the unknown. I imagine that most of us feel fear and grief amidst the growing uncertainty that you’ll return to us. So, my friend, wherever you are, how would you advise us to relate to this moment of heart wrenching uncertainty?

I imagine that you would wish us to be comforted rather than contorted in pain. I imagine that you would wish something like, “Just be there for each other. Let this moment be a heart-centered moment. May this moment remind you of the preciousness of life. May your fears and your tears bring you more deeply into your humanity and clarify your vision such that you clearly see the beauty that is your existence.” That’s how I imagine your wish for us – all of us that love you.

Chuck, there has never been anyone like you. Your way of being human is enigmatic, wild, innocent, and loving. You have always been unabashedly yourself, and we who have been gifted by your essence *cannot help* but love you. Loving you is the inevitable outcome of you being you. It’s such a gift you’ve given to us: the gift of effortlessly loving you.

At this moment, when accepting the reality of your disappearance feels impossible, I want to honor you by becoming more fully alive, more wild, more innocent, and more loving. My grief is so immense, I could cry a river of tears. I choose to feel it fully, and in doing so, I feel more fully here, more fully human, and more in touch with what matters most in this short life. In my love for you, I recognize my love for all of life, and my love for you will never diminish no matter how this thing turns out.

If you and Charley do not return to us in the way that we hope, I pray that all of us – we who love you – will find our own way home into our heart of hearts as a way to honor you and celebrate the immense light you’ve brought into this world.

To you, Charley, Jenny, Amelia and your whole family: peace be with you. We are unwaveringly here for you,

-Michael Rempel

Read Full Letter

“I hope that they are found alive and that they come home to me and [daughter] Amelia, and if that doesn’t happen tonight, I just hope that wherever they are, they are safe and at peace,” Chuck’s wife Jennifer Thompson told the local news on Friday. Lotus posted on Saturday that the band had no new information to report as the search for Chuck and Charley Morris continued on and around Beaver Lake. A GoFundMe campaign collecting donations for Morris’s family has raised more than $50,000 as of publication time. A prayer vigil for Chuck and Charley was held Saturday afternoon at Lost Bridge. Members of a Lotus fan group on Facebook have also planned a virtual vigil due to take place on Wednesday, March 22nd.

Per a Monday morning report by the Fort Smith Times Record, a search of the area has been underway on the water and on land. Flyers are posted in the area, hikers in the area have been notified to be on the lookout, and authorities have asked anyone who has information pertinent to the search to make contact by calling 911 or the local sheriff’s office at 479-271-1008.

Our hearts and minds are with the extended Morris/Lotus family as the search continues.

This is a developing story.

 

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