Make sure you reach out to the ones you love.
People en masse are a revolving door into the upstate hotel that is our own lives. We will see hundreds of thousands of different human beings in our lifetime, several thousand of which we will make any sort of contact with. Even smaller yet, we maybe only have around 50 to 100 people in our lives that we considered loved ones. Of course, such a subjective term like 'loved ones' can reach the standards of many more, but I personally consider those close to me as family, close friends, some coworkers, and possibly some mentors along the way. As we grow older, it seems that the population influx of new companions tends to be very low. At that point, we're set with just about every person that would hold a significant place in our lives. This is not only a reminder to our elders to cherish those loved ones we have presently, but also to the younger generations such as mine to really value the relationships and bonds we have formed so early on in our lifespan. Just one year makes such a difference, let alone 5 or 50 or what have you. It's a reality of the changing environments and rapidly evolving world around us:
People come and go.
You never know when the last day you speak to somebody will be. What that conversation will be like. What the cause of this separation will be. Who would be the one left in confusion or anger or grief. I have lost contact with loved ones many times for one reason or another. Those I once called best friends are all but begotten, living on through memory be it positive or negative. Others live in spiritual memory, having passed on to the afterlife. It's this period of bereavement that pays the highest price on our emotions. Although rather taboo in our culture, death is a concept that we rarely seem to factor in our lives. In personal experience, it seems as if any conversation about death spurs worry in others for me, like it's a morbid fascination. The fact of the matter is: death is incredibly real. And it can happen indiscriminately. At times it seems like there can be more questions than there are answers. But is it worth the time worrying what could have been instead of the life that once was? Death is no time for such existential quandaries; instead it is a circumstance of progression from that point. Instead of, "Why is this happening to me?", it aides to focus on, "How will this affect my vision for my own life looking forward?"
But hindsight is always 20/20.
Why do we tend to take for granted the time we have with each other right now? It's an incredibly fair assumption to believe that those we are surrounded by will still be here when we wake up in the morning. It's not necessarily natural to expect an untimely death, or to foresee an argument gone awry. Our minds have difficulty charting personal growth and change from the outside looking in. I don't think I've changed a lot since 8th grade, but anybody who has known me since 8th grade knows good and well that I am nothing like back then. It's absurd to even compare the two. Since then, I have experienced radical events both awe-inspiring and cataclysmic alike. Never could I have predicted the situations I find myself in today. Even so, things don't feel all that different. That lack of difference I feel is what allows us to take advantage of our situations presently. A stasis of satisfaction, solidarity that the ones we love will surround us and join us along forever in the journey that is our lives.
Most times it doesn't work that way.
So...what am I even trying to say? Just take time to appreciate your life right now. Anything could happen in the course of a night to throttle you into a position you never anticipated. Do me a favor, go grab your phone or get on Facebook or something and tell your parents you love them, tell a friend you appreciate their support through the years, thank a teacher for inspiring you to want to be a better person. Don't wait until then, do it now. Life experiences have taught me never to expect a 'then'. By the time it comes, your window of opportunity may have already shut. There are opportunities left on the table we all wish we could have again, but these instances lessen drastically when your lens shifts focus to what culminates in your life today. While the past is important in sculpting the persona we embody, it makes no sense to long for the egg you ate yesterday when the carton still has 11 eggs. Recognize the past in preparation for the future.
Every day is a gift. Cherish it like one.
