  Death Teaches us how to Live
I’m not fixated on Death, my faith allows me to have hope beyond the grave and including reuniting with loved ones, for that I’m so very grateful and it allows me to live aware, to live alert, intentional living. "No One Said Easy", a Choice. Choosing not to drift along life’s journey. I have had a number of loves ones who have died, family, close friends and in relating how Death teaches us how to live, when my husband of 19 years, a friend for many more, a father to our 2 sons, his life was taken, he was murdered by a 17 year old predator who shot him in the back with a military assault rifle and left him to die on the street, (a detailed story is shared on the under Living in my Truth. It was not just a few pages in my life’s journey that was written, but a chapter in my life’s journey, by itself a chapter on Death teaching me how to live. Gratitude was Gracious because it was how we lived, because of the conversations we had, because of the moments we shared, even in spaces of frustration in our married life, we chose to give space, not anger, I can honestly say that I have no regrets regarding our life, our time together, I lived saying those things I wanted to say, I did those things that I wanted to do and no matter when the departure would have come, the separation by death between us, it would have been to soon, he is missed and my heart is tattooed forever. I chose to live a life with Gratitude, to have a home that operated in that space “by choice”, not easy, a choice and that choice returned to me while in a tragic place, sharing that I gained in my present days of having No Regrets, no burdened heart of separating in a bitter place, or things that were left unsaid or apologies unspoken. **If you are now living with Regret, you have to let it go, you can not change what has happened but you can take that, you can take that energy and make the remainder of your days operating and sharing how not to live in that way that created regret in your own life. Don’t allow the burden to be a weight, Take what happens and do something with it, whatever allows fulfillment in your life, whatever allows for you to make a difference in the life of someone else. This is one of the many reasons, I have intensified this movement "Making Gratitude Contagious", it started as a Sandbox just sharing a perspective of lessons learned, from our generation to the next, now it is a movement and I’m calling on everyone to support the movement, support happens in many ways and that is outlined on the website under Eagle Call with ways you can do so. My ask is that you join with me, find your sweet, genuine spot of connection and support and join in with me in that area. Join with me in Planting Seeds of Gratitude, we are tending a garden and Yes that includes we are pulling weeds, but we are planting seeds at the same time. Anything you plant, Anything that you plant...will grow, right?! It may take time but it will surely grow. Death teaches us how to live In relation to my sons, losing their father was the first acquaintance to death directly affecting their lives and what was important to me was that they understood the Grace of God that we relied heavily on during that chapter and will rely on for a lifetime of moments, it was important to me that the faith that they were raised in what this meant, how it related to our lives in that moment and continues to present day. It was important to me that They understood the analogy of an Eagle, something I’ve shared many times throughout their youth, more details of that experience is shared on my Podcast.. Why an Eagle? Along the journey, storms come and this was a Hurricane, it was tragic, but as Eagles we understand that we have to continue to Soar above storms. To recognize that storms will come, not if storms come, but when they do, that you can rise above them, not shut down and not overwhelmed by them but use the winds to rise higher above them and continue forward. I didn’t say Easy, I said Possible, I said that you can. Grieving is healthy, tears, sadness, reflection all good things to release and that includes cherishing memories and conversations for a lifetime. What may not be healthy is when you get stuck in a chapter for years and years and you can’t escape the emotion of that chapter, it is one thing to reflect, to cherish, to share, to shed tears even but to be stuck where you no longer function day to day is not healthy. If this is YOU, please find the help you need, we all need help at times, just do it, don’t allow weight, don’t allow depression to smother and choke you to death. I recognize we don’t all have someone to reach out to so in those cases, I always suggest the suicide prevention line, they are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this is not about anyone else, it is about you being here. That number is 800-273-8255 Death teaches us how to live... The greatest question we can ask ourselves, What am I willing to die on? What is my belief that I live on a daily and willing to die on? Those questions form how we live, how we treat others by our words, by our actions. Those questions allow us in every moment to Take a Pause and to decide our reaction with things that challenge us, Those questions provide the strength to confront and continue through the many things that we can’t control, Those questions determine how we interact with those we know and with those that we don’t know. Those questions allow us to dig deeper on what is precious, what is priceless, what matters in our lives present day. What is “our why” of what we choose to do what we do? Death teaches us how to live... it allows us on every departure, a moment to assess our own life, our own journey, our own legacy, our own belief, it allows us to reflect on the words and actions that we will leave behind when our time comes. In reflection, along my journey, I believe that for every loved one that has transitioned from this life, there was a lesson, their were words of wisdom left behind, that I reflect on and in some cases adopted new actions that I exercise in my own life, one is telling those around me I love them, when parting ways. I was not aware of that process intentionally, but in review it has become very clear that each departure has left words to reflect on from many conversations that were had, from moments shared, from observation of many faces who in some cases could not speak but it was expressed on the face, in the eyes, an observation of those in deep thought or reflection of moments in their own life. A lesson, words of wisdom, dreams and plans shared. Hopes for those around them and for generations to come. The observation of faces that held concern, worries, fears of what if, if this, then this, an observation, a lesson, wisdom shared from observing, from listening, from asking questions, or hearing stories along life’s journey. Reflections that travel with me present day. Death teaches us how to live... how to treat other people, to have patience with those who may be moving a little slower, or who need support in any given situation. We all have to be aware that no one promised us that tomorrow will look the same as today, no one promised us that our journey will end a certain way, no one promised us that our lives would not be challenged in some way, none of us know what we might face, but we do know that we can be kind, we can be patient, we can live with an empathetic heart, we can choose to operate in the best version of ourselves. WE can choose to be the change we want to see starting in our home, with our own family, with dear friends, at work, in the community, in the neighborhood that surrounds us. If not you, if not me, if not us then who? Death teaches us how to live... When we choose to live with an open heart, we are open to operating with kindness, being respectful of those around us, operating in love, no matter our differences, operating in love no matter our differences, again operating in love no matter our differences. When you live chaotically, stressed, overwhelmed, vengeful, angry about something, frustrated about everything, then the world you see will be chaotic, you will live with no peace. Is that the plan? Is that the plan to live a life of no peace, angry about something, mad at someone about what? Is it? Is that the plan? You have to choose to exercise in the moment, making the best decisions in every single moment by your words and your actions. We are emotional beings and when, not if, and when, not if we are not in a good space, it is okay to take time to get ourselves on track, to regroup to regain our perspective before delivering weight to someone else before showing up providing tension. We have a choice, Someday is today and it will Always, always be a choice. I did not say It would be Easy, I said it will always be a Choice Death Teaches us how to live... We can decide what we tolerate and what we don't, Consider, someone is listening, someone is observing, someone who we may never meet took something with them from the action or words that we expressed in a given moment. If we understood how our lives can affect the lives of others, consider the young eyes that may be watching, the older eyes who are observing, Who knows but if we carried the weight of just that, we would have to consider the responsibility of that and it would make us more alert to our decisions, alert and aware of our conversation. I hear, but you don’t know what I’ve been through, you don’t know the injustice, the things that surround me or that I lived with? Yes, you would be correct but from a person’s life who was disrupted without notice, whose door was kicked down and everything known or planned changed in an instant, who current day is building along the way and traveling now rerouted in a different direction. Allow me to say, it doesn’t matter what happened, my only question is what are you going to do with it? How are you going to choose to live your life, what chapter are you willing to get stuck in? What do you gain from a life of choosing to be a victim? It’s a choice, we all have a story, we all have a story, we have storms, we all have valleys, so the only question is what are you going to do with yours? That is a direct question to You. Are you going to allow your life, to be robbed of precious moments, of laughter, of joy because of what happened? Death teaches us how to live... Death it is not a respecter of time, or age, or environment, or color, or location or status, Death is not on our timetable of When. If we could just embrace one thought that everything we choose to do in any given moment, is a seed being planted somewhere, that seed will grow in our lives, it will grow in the tomorrows we pray to have, into the lives of those around us. The seeds of words we speak and the actions we take in our home, around our family, where we work or along the travels we take throughout our day. Every word is a seed and it is going into the heart of someone. What are You Planting along your journey, what is growing around you, what is the harvest that you are creating in your life and in the lives of those around you? What are you planting? Death teaches us how to live... How are you living? Do you know your why, do you know what you believe and are willing to die on? I’m not providing answers, I’m providing words to consider, today, not tomorrow, not someday. Today In the scheme of things we attend the services of those who have died, transitioned on and we are guests and will be a guest at many more until we are the honoree and what will they say about how you or I lived? What will they say about the garden that we left behind? Death teaches us how to live... Thank you for being here, Thank you for supporting this movement to continue forward, by your donations of kindness, by your purchases on the Online Store, by purchasing the book, Live Heart Inspired, by Sharing the website, by reposting, commenting, and sharing in the Community Social Media Village, You just being here for every part of it, I’m very grateful, your support is continuing planting seeds in "Making Gratitude Contagious" You are appreciated..Thank you for traveling this unfamiliar path with me. Death Truly Teaches us how to Live... Comments are closed.
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