Saturday, August 8, 2015

Finding Life in Death


I normally blog about books, the media, marketing, and things like literacy or the First Amendment, but today we’re going to talk about life.  I got the reminder that life’s too short, too precious to waste.  A guy I knew from high school just lost his wife to cancer.  She was only 46 and was diagnosed with a rare disease just seven weeks ago.  You can never predict something like that is going to happen.  But we know it can – and does.  

Even when the end comes 50 years later, it still feels too soon.  Living with our eventual mortality, however, should comfort us.  Know it will happen, accept it, and move on.  You can’t fight it.  All that we hope to do is defer it a bit longer.  Consider every day of life as a delay from the inevitable, a momentary reprieve from your destiny.

I had no words of wisdom to share with him, no words of advice.  What could you say?  I can’t imagine how he feels – what he’s been through and what’s to come.  Maybe he’ll find peace with all that’s unraveled just before they would have celebrated their silver wedding anniversary.  Perhaps he’ll find comfort in their four children.  Maybe he’ll immerse himself in his work as a law firm founder.  Time will tell.  He’ll never forget, but hopefully he will find new ways to cope and to find pleasure in life.

But all of this is one of many reminders we are given about life. Take hold of the moment and live with laughter, love, and curiosity. Who knows when life can change for us or those around us?  Who knows when things will change, with little or no warning, permanently and irrevocably?  Who can guarantee their years or days or know the quality of those remaining times?

Wake up and make a change.  If life’s not what you want, go out and find a new one.  If life’s great, live it to the fullest and be thankful every day for all that you’ve been fortunate to do and have.  Whatever stage of life you’re in, find a way to enjoy it and to maximize your circumstances.  Redefine your metrics and perhaps don’t judge so harshly.  Go easy on yourself and others.  Find what gives you fulfillment, happiness and a sense of accomplishment.  Appreciate the little things and laugh at yourself. Find the courage to change, to rebound, to persist, to pursue, to seek, to speak out, and to trust in others.

We know all of these things, but we forget them, dilute them, or simply don’t know how to embrace them.  Try to.

Let yourself feel reborn for the moment.  A fresh start. Right now.  It sounds tempting, doesn’t it?  That’s because it is.  Choose optimism, feel hope, move forward, reach high, and always, always hug the good people in your life.

Death is never far off for any of us.  It is not to be feared nor argued with. It is to remind you to live life fully.  Every moment is precious.  Every moment awaits you.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015

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