Normally when I read the obits, the individuals are older than I am. When the individual is younger, especially when s/he has is connected to the journey one has been on, it is as if someone pressed pause. Everything stops, if only for a moment. A subconscious time of reflection begins, even if one would prefer it did not. Life continues, but never quite in the same way.
As I walk through the reflection of the past few days, I realize that there are several recurring truths for my consideration. They include the following.
Regardless of one preformed view of the length of time one has, life’s reality is that you have what you have. For some it painfully short. For others, they are asked to journey for a time and even longer. With the certainty of uncertainty, one cannot and does not know how much time one has.
Those that leave the greatest impact always seem to be humbly aware of their own mortality. Often they are private, but not always. From the words of those around them, it was as if they were aware of how fragile things were however this did not determine their focus. I hear a lingering echo of their lives. “I’m a ghost of my former self, half-consumed already by terminal illness.” (Psalm 102.4) “This has not defined me; my calling is…” The defining end to the sentence and the impact that they have left on us is the passionate actions of living life to the maximum.
For some, life is defined by predetermined milestones and dates. For others, it is about living ever day as fully and completely as one can! Be it 29, 57, or 96, there are windows where we can make a difference. It is time to live! It is our moment to stride against the odds, to try to make our world, communities, and yes even our life better.
I hear an invitation to run into the future with sense of hopeful abandon. There is work to be done! Those alive are challenged to live.
