Today I was in a Facebook group and someone was talking about food and how this particular food was โto die forโ.
Every time I hear that phrase my heart jolts!
ย I love to say instead โto live for!” Example, “This cake is to live for!” ๐
And this is how I feel about living with my recent diagnosis of cancer.
I have chosen to fill my days seeking life rather than avoiding death. Now this may sound a little morbid but in all reality it is not. We can all benefit from this. We are all going to die at some pointโฆ. maybe today or maybe tomorrow or maybe 30 years from now. We don’t know when but we can live in the meantime! ………
What matters is did we live while we were alive?
And when it comes to food or things that we love โฆโฆ we should LIVE for them!
I hope that this gives you some food for thoughtโฆ pun very much intended. Have a great day everyone!
Young charming pretty woman is smiling while smelling the aroma of her fresh healthy breakfast being cooked.
Daiseys in a glass and daiseys have dried out and their petals fallen onto a wooden table.
The Speed of Life
Life sure does go by quickly doesn’t it? I was reminded of this when I went to my cottage this weekend. We had not been there since early summer and when I walked into my dining room there, I saw this……
It reminded me of how fleeting life is and how even the seasons seem to pass into the next in the blink of an eye. When I saw these fallen flowers, I thought of spring/summer and it is now fall.
I like to be reminded of how fast life speeds by because it jolts me into appreciating life and every sacred moment in it.
Another thing that happened this week that really, really, jolted me was that I ran into someone that I grew up with and had not seen in probably 30 years or more. I only recognized him because of his voice, as I heard him speaking in a cheerful manner to the lady at the deli counter.
We chatted and it was so lovely to connect with him after all these years. He had shared with me that he has been dealing with cancer for 10 years and he has much outlived his prognosis date of how long he should be living for, and that he was very grateful for that.
He had recently lost his brother and I took a moment to offer my condolences around that and acknowledged how much his family has been through in recent years.
He then mentioned to me that he went and spent a few days with my own brother in our home town and how much that meant to him. I cry just recalling the JOY in his voice as he expressed his delight around their visit, especially it being where we grew up.
After once again bumping into him in the checkout line, I realized that he was catching the bus so I offered him a ride. He graciously accepted and our ride was full of heartfelt chatter. He was very excited about a garden that he maintained and it reminded me of the simple pleasures and JOYS of life.
The Jolting Moment…
Shortly before we reached his home, I said to him that it was so nice that he and my brother got to catch up. And then he said to me this… the jolt I talked about: “It was more of a saying good-bye…..”
So once again, I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face. I wondered if that was my good-bye to him as well. I hope not. I hope I get to see him again and I am grateful for the visit we had. It will forever change my life as some of these moments do.
And I have a confession..… when I heard his voice in the grocery story, I almost didn’t call out because you know I was busy and in a hurry and on a schedule. You know how it is. But I did and I am glad and I am grateful for the beautiful gifts and reminders about the sweetness of life that emerged from this whole experience.
So yes my friends, life goes by quickly. EnJOY the moments, make time for the simple things, and connect with the people in your life that matter…. The seasons of life go by quickly.
“I am spending delightful afternoons in my garden, watching everything living around me. As I grow older, I feel everything departing, and I love everything with more passion.”
Emile Zola (1840 – 1902), in the year of his death.
Life is sweet and yet it is also a bittersweet journey.
This morning while doing my morning reading, I found the quote above and thought I would blog about it. It is uncanny that as I went to prepare this blog post, I realized today was the day my mother died in 1993.
I can still remember on that day, the lilacs in full bloom in the tree in her parking lot at the apartment building she lived in.
I love this quote and it reminds me to enJOY the gift of life and the gift of each day.
I am delighted to see so many people starting to enJOY flowers, plants and gardening. It seems as though people are awakening to the exact energy of this quote and it is beautiful indeed.
I will keep this quote handy to remind me of the sweetness of life and also as a reminder to appreciate the gift of another day.
MaggieHolbik.com 