There are very few glaring stop signs in life – you know, the kind that make you stop dead in your tracks, force you to stand still and observe. Observe who you are, the people around you and the way in which you choose to live your life.
It is often said that the one reality that we can be absolutely certain of is death. But the more I encounter death; the death of those I love, the death of relationships, the death of habits – an ending of any sort – I am reminded that there are so many more realities in life than just death. It is true that ultimately, we will all die. But it is also true, that we will all be blessed with the opportunity to love; that we will at least once in our lifetimes laugh so hard that our stomachs will hurt and we’ll gasp desperately for air; that our hearts will melt with compassion at a soppy scene from the ultimate movie and tears will fall as if the pain is being inflicted on our own being; that somebody, somewhere will do or say something that to them is miniscule but will plaster an unmoving smile on your face for an entire day. All of these instances have already happened in my life and so has death – many a time, in fact. And I guess the saddest thing; what makes us weep for those we have lost is that they’ll never again get a chance to experience these wonderful opportunities that life gives us.
