Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Love life to the fullest and embrace it with no regrets

Life is short.
Life as you know it can change in an instant and there's no going back.
I've had instances of this happen way too often the last few years. 
One day you're doing fine and then the next day EVERYTHING changes.
 
I have always been one to say that life is short and you should enjoy every moment. I realize that is often easier said than done. We all have our own battles and frustrations.  Over the past few years and even within the past few months of this current year, I have seen so many lives drastically
change without warning. Some even changed so much to the point of no return.
 


Vivian was unexpectedly hospitalized for three nightmarish weeks and succumbed to her heart disease.
 
Steve, a perfectly healthy 54-year old, dropped dead of a heart attack.
 
Linda had an unwarranted intra-cerebral hemorrhage.
 
Denny had a fifth recurrence of prostate cancer in which it metastasized to the bone and has required chemo. 
 
Peggy's stage four breast cancer was in remission after a two-year battle. The cancer came back one month and she was gone two months later.
 
Charles returned from vacation, wasn't feeling well, and he lost his life just shy of three months to untreatable pancreatic cancer.
 
Karla was diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer in January, had a stroke and died seven months later.
 
Jen, a single mom in her 40s, was diagnosed with colon cancer and is enduring chemo with still only a 56% survival rate.
 
Shawn Jr., 19 years old, is fighting for his life after having 40% of his body burned during a bonfire accident.
 
Mike, at the age of 48, went into the hospital on a Wednesday night and on Sunday morning lost his life as a result of no brain activity due to a bacterial infection.
 
***
One thing that I have always feared is regret.  I'm referring to big life-altering regrets.
I have numerous regrets and the worst thing I have found is when a person loses their life and I have left something unsaid. Don't let that happen. Make sure to tell people how you feel about them. Don't wait until it is too late.  It will haunt you for the rest of your days.
 
Tons of things on a daily basis can get us down.
I'm not above that but it wasn't long ago that I chose to stop letting it control my life.
 I choose to be happy.
Am I happy all the time?
 Of course not.
Do I get wrapped up in my insecurities and inner demons?
All the time, unfortunately.
But I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be because I know now how it feels when I get into that downward spiral and it's not a good place to be.
 
 
Drink that expensive bottle of wine.
Go to that fancy restaurant you've always wanted to try.
Take that road trip.
Call up that old friend that you thought about and haven't seen in 20 years.
Tell someone you love them.
 
I'm not saying be frivolous. I'm not saying throw caution to the wind. I'm not saying do what you want in spite of others' feelings. I'm saying don't put things off for silly reasons. Don't "want" to do something but you're too lazy to actually do it.
 
For one moment, think about how you'd feel if tomorrow you were told you had a terminal disease and only two months to live. Think about what you'd want to do. Think about all the time you've lost with your family and friends. Do you have that "oh, it won't happen to me" mentality? My friends, get your head out of your you-know-what.
Anything can happen to any of us at any given time.
 
Don't wait.
Love life to the fullest.
Embrace it.. with no regrets....
before you don't have that option.
 
 
Folks are always dreaming about what they like to do but I like to do just what I like.
I'll take the chance, dance the dance.
It might be wrong but then again it might be right.
There's no way of knowing what tomorrow brings.
Life's too short to waste it; I say bring on anything!
 
I ain't here for a long time.
I'm here for a good time!
 
-George Strait
 
 
 
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment