Monday, January 14, 2013

Discover your reason to appreciate life

The clear bluest green waters roared as if it had a voice.  The sun was shining as if the voltage was turned so far up even the shadows weren’t as dark.  All around me as I lay on a brightly colored beach towel the sounds of laughter filled the air.  Children played in the ocean as adults played alongside them as if they were recapturing their own childhood.  My own wife had abandoned me for hours as she frolicked in the waters of the great Pacific Ocean.  Periodically I would look up to spot her before the waters sucked her back in. Hawaii was quickly becoming my wife’s new lover.  I relished in her glee and reflected on my own life as I enjoyed the warm sun as it further baked my already brown skin.

I am a true believer in reflection.  In doing so it does put things into their proper perspective.  As the clock of life ticked on Nov. 8, I reached another milestone—50 years of age.  Wow!  Just yesterday I was partying like its 1999 and doggone it was.  Time may fly, but life can seem to go as fast as the speed of sound.

Therefore as I relaxed in the sun, on the beautiful beach on the magnificent island of Oahu my mental DVD player came on and I reflected in increments of 10.

Being born in the early part of the ‘60s, I was too young to know all that was happening in the world-- from JFK, MLK and RFK being assassinated, to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Civil Rights Movement.  However in 1972 my awareness was peaked with the brutal murder of my 15 year old uncle.  At the age of 10, I started to have an appreciation for life through death.  In 1982 my beloved grandmother was needed in heaven and my appreciation for life increased even more.  Tragically in 1992 my younger sister died in her sleep.  Again that brought forth a greater appreciation for life.

Over the past 20 years I haven’t experienced any other close relatives passing (thank God) but my overall appreciation for life has grown as if it was a planted field and I’m enjoying the harvest.

Life is a blessing.  Life is a gift.  Life is to be treasured.  Life shouldn’t be wasted.  Please don’t let a death be the catalyst for you to appreciate your own life.  Allow the message contained in the above words touch the spirit of life that breathes in each of us.  And for those that missed it—APPRECIATE LIFE!

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