The Urgency of Life

The past few weeks I supported a friend as his 19-year-old son died. It was a horrible experience that I wish no parent had to go through. During this terrible time I also witnessed the amazing strength that we all have within us and the incredible power of coming together as a community to support each other.

Loss is a powerful reminder of how precious and fragile our lives actually are.

• We feel young until we age.

• We feel healthy until we are challenged by an illness.

• We feel the future is eternally there for us until it is not.

• We feel we can show our love tomorrow, until we cannot.

As I thought about the fragility of our lives I felt a sense of urgency to live today. The idea of urgency might trigger you to act or it might make you feel overwhelmed.

I am not talking about the urgency to do more, achieve more or create more, which we often associate with this feeling. I am talking about the urgency to be, not the urgency of more.

What this means for ourselves:

• Accepting ourselves completely as we are. Knowing our strengths and our weaknesses, as well as what we value and what we need.

• Permitting ourselves to feel whatever we need to feel. Remembering that we can feel anger, frustration and fear AND also be strong and positive at the same time.

• Doing what is important to us. Focus on what is important and feels right rather than what you think you have to do.

What this means for others:

• Acknowledging those around us and letting them know that we see them and that we are paying attention to their actions. Do it often!

• Expressing gratitude every day for what we have. Small or large there is always something to be grateful for.

• Giving to those in need, because we are lucky to be able to give.

• Saying “I love you” often to those we love.

• Being part of a community (whatever that might mean for you). There is power in having people around us, both to share good times with and to offer support in times of loss and challenge.

Our lives are fragile. Our health can change at any moment. Our world is constantly changing. There is a sense of urgency to live.

Urgency to stop and be more present rather than to do more. Urgency to accept and love our imperfect selves. Urgency to acknowledge and love those around us.

I invite you to breathe deeply and feel gratitude for what you have today.

I challenge you to say thank you, I see you, I appreciate you and I love you more often.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for sharing it with others that might need it.