How to Live a Life

There comes a time in our world when we are honored with the privilege of watching a loved one pass from this world to the next. Human reaction is sadness, fear, despair. All such valid emotions; we are so used to our loved one being there with us, for us – they are a part of the fabric of who we are. Some beliefs consider that our loved ones have gone home to be with Jesus – that Jesus call them home. Others believe that our loved ones walk in the spirit world; some choose to believe that our loved ones become our angels in heaven and are there to guide us through the next phases of our existence. I have no idea what the truth is, and honestly, it doesn’t really matter in the long run what I believe. Personally, I love the idea that my loved ones are my angels watching over me, but I do not presume to know the truth.

I have lost loved ones quickly, unexpectedly with no way to help. I have stood by their side, trying to make them as comfortable as possible, helpless to do so. My path, so far, has been to be on the sidelines, and as long as I am alive, that will be my destiny.

One day someone will mourn the loss of me in this world, but for now it is my job to be there for those I love. We all have our journey, we all live our own dash. Our stories are our own, and yet they are all so fleeting. To me the lesson is to live in each moment the best we can. It makes my heart a bit sad to know that the sun will rise tomorrow whether I am here to see it or not. To know that the seasons will pass, and that new lives will be born and lived and I will not be a part of it all. I am today, and that is the most important thing for me to remember; I am here today and I have freedom of choice to how I live each day. I absolutely love my life, our world and all that is in it.

I try to live my personal life as I see fit. I have the freedom to say yes and no to options. I often say yes to too many things and it causes my days to fill rapidly, leaving me wondering why I said yes and how to begin to say no. My work is not the same, though. It is not as rewarding as I once believed it would be. Work is such a touchy thing in our society. We have changed throughout the course of history into what we are today. Since the dawn of mankind it seems that we struggled to survive; it was about meeting our needs in the way of food, shelter, and clothing. That pretty much made up a lifetime. Things changed over time; inventions, creations; thing meant to improve lives. We relied on our community sometimes; it takes a village, as the saying goes. It seems as we created more things to make life easier, it became infinitely more complicated, however. In American society we now think that Who we are is a direct result of What it is we do for a living. It slides through the fingers of my thoughts – I can actually visualize fingers in my mind that have these thoughts sliding through them. Why have we made our lives so very complicated? I do have to go to work on Tuesday. I do have a house to pay for, a car to pay for, I do have bills to pay, because that is what I have worked for in my life. But why, really? In the long run none of that truly matters. Really, why do we waste so much time on things such working so very hard?



I love walks in the woods, viewing the ocean, sitting in silence appreciating a moment. It seems to me that those should be the focus of our lives. And yet we become so tied up in making money, working in a job, letting others change the direction of our lives. Ultimately aren’t our lives our own? How in the world did we ever get so off track? So the idea has been on my mind lately – how to change this. For now I do need to go to work Tuesday. I do need to focus on the task at hand. I do need to do a job. But, I also owe it to myself to figure out a better way to do so. Because to work as I do, where I do, with those I do? That is taking a toll on my own life, my own personality. I have to figure out a way to meet my own needs first instead of everyone else coming first. That is my goal now. To figure out a better way to live my life.

When I am on my deathbed. When loved ones are gathered around – or, when I suddenly take my last breath unaware? I want my life to be more than what it is right now. I want to know that I did all I could to live a valid, true life. That I allowed myself happiness and freedom, and that I lived the very best I could.