Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Live To Die


We all hate to talk about it, but we all fall prey to it eventually.  I'm talking about out mortality and death.  We have just seen the Kennedy family struck with another tragic loss.  Disco diva Donna Summers has recently passed, along with Robin Gibbs of the 70's sensation the Bee Gees, Davy Jones, and Whitney Houston.
My best friends husband also recently suffered a loss.  Her husband lost one of his friends, due to a sudden tragic event.

The friend lived out of state in New Jersey, so my friend and her husband traveled about 11 hours to attend the funeral.  The funeral was a graveside one, in which only his parents, his sister, my friend and her husband were in attendance. When my friend told me this I was surprised.  There were no other relatives that paid their respects, no fellow parishioners, and no other friends. I then began to feel sad and that's when the phrase "Live to Die" came to me.

With everyone coming up with a "Bucket List", we see that people are trying to truly experience life before they die. And its not just the elderly that are creating bucket list.  I read recently where a mom of two young boys had a list, there was also a story of parents that had created a list for their dying baby girl and another set of parents that created a list for their dying toddler son.  These people were trying to live life to the fullest, so that when they died there would be no regrets.


I thought about the guy whose funeral my friend had attended, and I began to question if he had lived life to the fullest where he had no regrets.  Had he done everything he wanted to do?  Had he ever experienced true love?  Had he ever given of himself to others expecting nothing in return?


When we heard about the deaths of Davy Jones and Whitney Houston, we were inundated with their musical library and movies.  We heard about their charitable givings and heard from individuals speaking about the impact the singers had made on their lives.  


So I challenge you today to "Live to Die".  Live each day as if it were your last.  Don't miss your opportunity to impact the life of a youth or someone in need of guidance, friendship, or love.  Stretch yourself.  Do things that you have always wanted to do, but have been putting off or were afraid to try. Live with a mission.





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