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We’ve all heard the saying, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” Truth is, we knew what we had, we just never thought we’d lose it.
In a world full of unknowns, we must always remember to hold onto the “knowns” in life—those things and people that bring us the most joy, give us the most meaning and make this crazy life worth living.
Death is something we hear about on a day-to-day basis—the loss of a loved one, dear friend or even someone we barely knew. No
(Photo courtesy of Kevin King via Creative Commons)
matter the victim, such tragedy can be felt in the hearts of anyone and everyone, and the sorrow that follows is inevitable, testing our true character and how we cope.
In most cases, we immediately turn to the shoulder of denial. As a result, our minds then fill with endless strings of question after question as we struggle in trying to understand what has occurred.
Often these questions only lead us further into denial, and what remains is a massive, unmistakable hole that we believe will never truly be filled again. This hole casts its immense shadow of darkness that even the strongest of us cannot seem to avoid.
Most of us live without awareness of death, without even the slightest clue of the seconds rapidly ticking away. But after all, isn’t life just one big ticking clock? From the moment we enter this world, life begins its countdown, ticking away precious moments of life that we can choose to either take advantage of or throw away.
The funny thing about life is that there is no way of knowing what these ticking seconds are to bring. The future remains a complete mystery. For all we know these could be the final seconds of our lives right here and now.
Have you accomplished all that you wanted to?
When it comes down to it, life is unfair and death happens no matter what we do. There’s no escaping it. We can either accept this or not, but at the end of the day that’s just the way it is. Hence, it only makes sense that we prepare for this eventuality by having funeral pre-arrangement plans which may include cremation services and your preferred flat grave markers.
It’s a horrible reality that tragedies and death are what it takes to remind us to be appreciative of what we have, to cherish everything as much as we can.
All in all, death is not something to be feared; rather it is something to be embraced. Death reminds us that we are not immortal, that we are simply human. We are born, we live, we die and in between we touch lives just as others touch our own.
Whether it’s skydiving, finding your soul mate, or simply getting out of bed in the morning, don’t take the things you have in life for granted. In the countdown of life, we must always remember to value those things we hold dear to us, and to live life to the fullest in everything we do.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kristy Gustafson at Kristy.gustafson@colorado.edu.
