Scott McKain, author of Collapse of Distinction, wrote a beautiful posting on his blog about how the recent spate of iconic celebrity deaths should remind us all to treat each day as a gift. Read Scott’s post here: What will YOU do with the gift of a day? Michael, Farrah, Ed & Billy will not receive what we will: http://budurl.com/ju28
Scott lost his wife to cancer several years ago so he knows about grief, loss, and the never-ending desire for more time. My birthfather Mike passed away in March after a battle with esophageal cancer. Since I was adopted, I never had the chance to know him my entire life, but we shoved a lifetime into the year and a half we had together. I am grateful for the time I had with Mike, and I discovered that I inherited his sarcastic sense of humor, big ol blue eyes, funky toes, and my love of writing.
One night when I couldn’t sleep, I mindlessly flipped channels on the TV remote and came across Larry King’s show. His guests that night were psychic James Van Praagh and several other New Age spiritualists. Their message was the same: tell your loved ones you love them, live your life the best you can without negativity, and forgive people. It struck me how much time we waste because of conflicts, misunderstandings and poor communication. Productivity isn’t all about getting your work done and answering e-mails. If you have good conflict resolution and communication skills, your relationships will be more productive — and far more healthier.
My birthfather’s illness and subsequent passing made me realize how much I need to tell the people I love that I love them and how I need to live my life to the fullest and not waste it. I’m still working on the second one. Grief can weigh you down, but you have to keep moving. It’s easy to stop and wallow and much harder to get going. Thanks to Scott, I was reminded to look at my bucket list and in those immortal words from The Shawshank Redemption, “get busy living.” I know what I’ll do with my gift of a day. What will you do with yours?
So true! Each day and each moment needs to be something we are mindfully living not just floating by. Connect with people and your priorities and every day you are making a difference too.
Sorry to hear this about your birth father. I know from experience how difficult it is to lose one’s parents. Most of us can never fully understand, however, what it must be like to find one’s birth parent and then lose him. I’m glad you were able to connect with him. It’s true that we should use our time to “get busy living.”