love

I woke up, got up, a little earlier this morning – not before the sun, not even with the sun, but just after. I have somewhat of a blank canvas today to look forward to. I know that something will splatter paint on it soon but for a little while this morning, the possibilities are vitalizing.

Unfortunately, today, I wake with darkness, in the metaphorical sense. There was a tragedy in our town recently, an accident and a subsequent death, and these horrible occurrences of life are nearly impossible to get through – I didn’t know the people involved personally but the effect becomes very personal. What I take from these misfortunes are the instant reassessment of my life and the reassurance that it is all so fragile and fleeting. And with this, I reshuffle all of my foolish and shallow “worries” and know, once again, that all that matters is love – period – there is no more . and with that realization, most of our troubles somehow disappear because they don't really matter much, do they? The people I love are here and the ones that are not "here", I have loved and still love and everything else that is good in my life is just extra. The "extra" will give me temporary pleasures - the new job, the good report card, the new car, the clean house, the trip to the beach, but loving people will fill the void - loving people will fill this blank canvas with beauty and depth and at the end of the day it is the only thing we can give that really endures. 

To be bold and melodramatic, I end with a quote by Og Mandino:

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.



heart u

p s