Life is Short

There was a time not so long ago when someone could have said to me "Life is short, live everyday like it is your last" and I would have just rolled my eyes. I would have been annoyed by the cliche because I never had anything to relate to it.

Most of us spend the majority of our lives working toward goals. Goals that help us obtain more money and more belongings and we believe more happiness. We will work and work and miss out on amazing experiences with friends and family because the desire to obtain money.

Learning that my dad had stage 4 lung cancer (for those of you who do not know very much about stage 4 lung cancer, the odds of living longer than 5 years is 4%. 50% of all patients do not make it more than 8 months after the day they are diagnosed) was devastating. No one tells you how to handle it or what to do. No one tells you how to speak or interact with someone who knows their time is very limited (I know miracles happen and I continue to pray, but the realist inside of me knows the odds and I am always going to be a numbers person) How do you look at someone who you have always thought was so strong and see that person cry or see that person deteriorate, because that is what chemo does to you! It wears down your body. It makes you sick and thin and weak. It makes you tired and drains all of your energy.

I have had many conversations with my dad about how he feels now that he has spent majority of his life busting his ass in order to make money, pay bills, save and hopefully retire. Or how he feels knowing that he will never be rid of cancer and he doesn't break down or get upset. He is thankful every single morning he gets to wake up, although he is usually is pain.

This makes you think, you could live your life the same way; Work, work, work and never take the time to be with your family or friends or go to any of the places you love. Or you could accept that money and busting your ass is not everything. I am not saying you should not have a job or that you should not want to get ahead in life, I am just saying that work and money should not be the only motive.

Go visit the places you want to see when you have the opportunity or spend quality time with the people you love. Some people choose to make their entire lives and every part of their being about their job and the money they make. Life is supposed to be so much more than that.

Our lives are unpredictable. None of us know how long we have or where we will end up. You could be killed in an accident or you could live until you are 100, but you will never really know until it actually happens and by then it is too late.

Live every single day like it really could be your last. Tell the people you love that you love them. Make an effort to see your parents and grandparents frequently. Don't let tiredness and laziness keep you from doing the things you want to do.

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