One Life to Live

It has certainly been such a hard week for me and my circle of friends. I found out that one of my friends passed away on Sunday night, while another one of my friends' friend also passed away tragically a few days prior. We have all been rendered speechless by so many tragedies in such a short period of time. We hear news and tragedies on the news all the time, but rarely do we ever stop to think that it would actually happen to us or any of our loved ones. The ultimate truth is that something like that could happen to any one of us. We're not invincible, nor are our loved ones. We are only humans.

I wrote a post a while back called "Could Woulda Shoulda" about how we shouldn't live with regrets in life. As humans, we have this special ability of knowing that everyone will die, yet still thinking that we won't. I will risk repeating a cliché here, but I think most of us don't really understand it enough: we all only live once. Life is extremely short. Of course, the concept of time is relative to each individual. For someone who's had a enjoyable life, 70+ years is a short time. However, for someone who's been struggling through life, 70+ years seems like pure torture. Just like Albert Einstein said: "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."

Image via wolf84game.blogspot.com

Regardless of that, although there are 24 hours in a day, each day still seems to travel by in the blink of an eye. I still feel like it was only yesterday that I was a kid playing in the playground, being utterly innocent from all the ups and downs of life. I mean, think back on your life; does it really feel like it's been this long since you last did something? Since you last met someone?

In this time of age, we're all so consumed with all our works and daily tasks that sometimes we just seem to forget about the people that really matter in our lives. We think we can always spend some quality time with our family and friends later, but what if later never comes? Who are we to guarantee that there's always going to be a "tomorrow"? I've seen and heard of many people who never got the chance to say "I love you" to someone they love, just because they thought they could always do it later. Here's the cold, harsh truth: later doesn't always come. The best time to do anything, especially telling someone you love them, is right now.

With that being said, there's always that aged old saying as to how we should never "go to bed angry". Not only would suppressing your frustrations not help resolve the conflicts, but if we're going back to the point, those words of anger might just end up being the last words that you would say to your loved one. God forbid that would ever happen to anyone, but there's no guarantee in life now, is there?

Of course, there are still times when other people do us wrong; thus, resulting in us feeling upset or resentful. It's normal to feel anger towards people. We're only humans; emotions are a part of who we are. Nonetheless, when those unpleasant feelings turn to grudges, that's when it starts to take over your life. There's no point in holding grudges towards someone who has done you wrong. If something is over, we should just leave it where it belongs: the past. In holding grudges, you're letting someone sit in the position of having power over how you feel. Us humans are only capable of holding in so much; let go of the things that hurt you to make room for love and the finer things in life.

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Isn't it funny how when we were kids, we believed that we could do anything, be anyone in the world. But as we grow older, for some reason, reality starts to sink in, and we start to create this illusion of "boundaries" for ourselves. Maybe I'm just a crazy optimist, but even until right now, I still believe that humans are capable of endless limitations. It doesn't matter how old you are, nor does it matter how crazy your dream is; as long as we're living and breathing, we are capable of anything. There are footprints on the moon, and men exploring space, so why can't we achieve our dreams, too? Age is nothing but numbers. Not to overstate this, but we only do live once. If we don't get off our butt and chase our dreams now, then when? Are we going to start living our lives once we're dead? Wouldn't late be better than never at all?

Alright, I think I have already demonstrated enough about this particular issue. I do; however, understand that many things in life are easier said than done. That doesn't mean that it's impossible, though. We just need to fully grasp the fact that we're not immortal, so we need to embrace the things that actually matter in life. On a side note, as my friend passed away due to a hit-and-run, I just want to remind everyone to please be careful on the road. Life is way too fragile. Try to be forgiving on the road, and don't operate a vehicle under an influence of any sort. You wouldn't want to be ripping someone's loved one away from them, would you? Stay safe, and take care. Don't forget to love one another.

Love, Catherine

XOXO