I have always known that life is short. I found that out at a young age, and I’ve been reminded too many times since.
Life might be the longest thing we know, but too often it ends suddenly, or creeps up on us in an unfair way caused by long term illness. However life humbles us in a reminder of the lack of time we have, it never gets easier for those who are left behind to pick up the pieces. Family, friends, acquaintance, co worker, death touches so many people when it happens and there are so many ways we can respond to it. “Death isn’t something that happens to you, it happens to the people around you.”
When dealing with the deaths I have faced, I’ve been at every emotion possible in that scenario. I’ve felt numb, broken, terrified, outraged, powerless, sickened and sometimes I’ve even felt so much it turned to apathetic. I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything else about the tragedy I was facing, so I just moved forward like nothing happened- until I caught up with myself and all other emotions followed.
The thing is, there is no wrong way to handle, process, or get through death. People all the time are judged for continuing a routine and not taking time off, but I know how important normalcy is in those moments. No one handles grief the same, and everyone’s grief will look different even when facing the same situation.
The same thing is true about life though- there is no wrong way to handle life. And with a recent death in our community it made me think about life a little bit longer.
How many days have I canceled plans or said ‘no’ because there was something “more important” to deal with? Work, cleaning house, running errands, how are these more important than the people closest to you? When you are gone, people won’t care if you worked 60 hours every week. They won’t care that your house was always spotless. People will remember how you made them feel.
You will be remembered for your laughter and jokes. You will be remembered for your ability to never meet a stranger. You will be remembered for being kindhearted, present, loving. You will be remembered for the late night Taco Bell runs where you ordered 1,000 calories worth of tacos because experiences are more important than how you look.
We only get so much time on this Earth, use it to be happy and spread happy.
Life happens, don’t miss out because you are worried about trivial things. Be present, spend time with the people that matter to you, and don’t take one single day for granted.
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