Recognizing the Preciousness of Life

A very good friend of mine recently passed away. There was no warning. No indication that anything wrong. It was one of those shocking life events that you just don’t see coming.

I’m still reeling from hearing the news. I can still picture him sitting in one of our chairs with his legs crossed in the unique way that he did and his loud laugh echoing through our home.

It’s at times like this that you are forced to stop and reflect. These sudden life events cause you to face the fragility of life and the cold hard fact that nothing is guaranteed.

As much as we may plan to live a long life, this could all change in a split second.

As I thought about losing my friend, I realized that I am not at all ready to join him. I am not prepared for my own ending. I feel I have so much more that I want to do before I leave this earth.

But as I thought about this, I also recognized the reality that I am not necessarily in control of the timing of my life’s exit.

I can try my best to minimize the odds through managing my health, wearing a seat belt, eating the right foods but there is that chance that is out of my reach that I too could suffer a significant injury, accident or major health event and come to an early demise.

I also came to the realization that I am closer to the end of my life than I am to the beginning. These types of situations force your mortality into focus very quickly.

But maybe that is part of the purpose of these sad events.

Maybe by recognizing that we aren’t here forever will force us to make some changes.

Maybe I’ll be kinder and more caring to the people around me as that’s how I would like to be remembered.

Maybe I’ll take more chances and do things I haven’t done before because I want to experience everything life has to offer.

Maybe I’ll make a bigger effort to reach out to the people important in my life rather than putting it off for another day.

Maybe I’ll stop worrying so much and recognize that most of the time the things I worry about aren’t worth worrying about after all.

Maybe I’ll reprioritize what is really important in my life and just let the other unimportant stuff go.

Maybe I’ll recognize just how precious and fragile life is and not just take it for granted.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s the best way to immortalize my friend and all that he gave us in both his life and death.