Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Carpe Diem

I wasn't sure how I was going to honor yesterday. There had been a drive to make September 11th a sort of Kindness Day, a day where you strive to do something nice for your fellow man or woman. And I agree with that idea, and wondered how I was going to honor it.

Then yesterday came. And my 37 yr old cousin died. She's 2 months older than I am, and would have been 38 this coming November. She's been battling cancer for years now, but we'd thought she'd beaten it and would finally get to start living her life.

We were wrong. She suffered massive kidney and liver failure just before the weekend, and the doctors finally decided they couldn't do anything for her.

She died yesterday.

It made me think: why do people put things off? Why do people fight living life, while they can? If I found out, tomorrow, that I had cancer...what would I do?

I don't know. I really don't. But I do know one thing for certain: that while I lived, I'd find a way to make each breath, each moment count. I don't know if my cousin managed that, and a part of me will aways wonder if she lived enough, in the time she had left.

So. Rather than harp on the things in life we may miss out on while we're waiting for tomorrow to come, I'm just going to sign off with a few quotes from others, who may be better able to express how I feel. I hope you get something out of at least one of them.
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." Dale Carnegie

"Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Gandhi

"I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect -"in case someone came over". Then I realized one day that no one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!" Author Unknown from Dust If You Must

"The trick is not how much pain you feel--but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses, excuses, excuses." Erica Jong

I'm going to miss you, Vicky.

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