Death, Oh Death!

I am thinking about death this .morning -- no, not my death, but death in general.

One of my residents died a few days ago, and I, once again, am forced to consider death as a possibility in my life. Okay, I know death will come to all of us, including me, but I am speaking of death differently today.

I have heard that death is a transition; life is short, the dash on the gravestone, the ticket; and there are other phrases used to describe the death or passing of someone. None of which are comforting or shed light on death. Sometimes, it seems that the word death is avoided at all costs, but still, it is death no matter how you dress it.

For me, I have come to learn that, for many, life is not short! Life is long and often fulfilling on many levels.
Almost none of us experience life as experienced by anyone else, yet all of us have had similar encounters with death and find death uncomfortable to encounter.

Death makes us sad. Death causes us the living pain or other human emotions. In most cases, death is not our friend, and yet it is our constant companion -- always hanging around waiting for the moment or appointed time to claim our lives.

If we spend too much time thinking about death, we lose a lot of quality time that could best be spent on living.

Over the years, I have given a lot of thought to death and dying, and I find that all of my thoughts and thinking do not change the fact that death just is, and there is not one thing I can do about it.

At some point in our futures, we will encounter death, including our own. The question, however, is, "Will we have lived our lives to the fullest before death arrived?"

This week I spoke with a man who was bemoaning his past life's endeavors and how he wished he had done things differently, and now that he is approaching eighty (80), he feels that he is running out of time to change things. I am sure he is not the only person I know having these thoughts or feelings, and I can't imagine the turmoil these thoughts are causing.

I also know a young woman who is a senior trying to make up for the life she did not have or thought she should have had and struggles daily, bemoaning how the lack of her childhood did not allow her to be the best person she could have been. What a place to be in at this time in her life.

I have pondered these situations and many more and have concluded that there is no remedy for any of them. The past is the past. Today is today. Tomorrow has not and will not ever arrive. All we have is now, now, and nothing more. What we have or have not done stands with the full knowledge that you cannot undo the past, but you can make this day count as well as all future days that you may be granted. Nothing being born perfect leaves lots of room for improvement. The big task is taking advantage of what you have now and using it to propel yourself toward what you want to become now.

If you want to finish high school and still haven't done it, go get it done. Only you can do it for you.

If you wanted to cut all of your hair off, go do it. It is your hair, and whether it will grow back or not remains to be seen. Take the risk.

Whatever your "if" is, there is no better time than the present.

You are right death is real, and yes, death is coming, but it is not here yet, but you ARE! Now, do not squander the time you have left, for it will never come again, and each day brings each of us closer to our dash, our ticket, our demise!

Whatever you decide, always remember you have or had the choice for you, not someone else, no matter how much you value or valued their opinions.

Death, oh death, I choose LIFE, and it more abundantly!