Life is fragile. We truly never know how long we will have on this earth. It is not true that my parents will surely die before me. It is not true that my children will not die before I do. It is not true that good and deserving people will live long lives. It is not true that “til death do us part” means we have unlimited time. Death always comes too soon. It is not logical, and it is never fair when it is someone you love.
Once I comprehend this reality, I have to choose how to respond. I can become a cynical complainer - Life is not fair, it’s too cold outside, the sun doesn’t shine enough (or the sun glares off the snow when it does shine), nobody appreciates what I do, etc. I can become withdrawn and unwilling to invest in life or relationships – after all, everyone I love is going to die anyway so I may as well save myself the hurt by not loving in the first place.
Or I can respond with unconditional investment in life and love. I know that when I do so, I risk everything. There is no love without hurt, no attachment without loss, no life without death, no summer without winter. But the alternative is to die myself. What do I choose?
Bard Lindeman was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist for years. After his wife died, he wrote the following in his column:
“As a 41-year-old widower, father to three motherless children, I surely knew loneliness and rampant confusion. However, when someone suggested joining a support group, I balked…I was stupid, mistakenly believing in macho self-reliance, for the way back leads through the community, the world around you. When you’re ready, you need to get up, get out, and get going. Get with people. Find a hobby, take a class at a community college, become a library regular, learn something new, adopt a pet, find a gym and get regular exercise, volunteer to deliver Meals on Wheels, escort a young relative to a baseball game, write letters, plant a tree, subscribe to a newspaper (be informed; your conversation will improve), join a choir, feed the birds, rejoin your veterans association… You get the idea: Construct an action plan that fits your ‘new life’ and stop trying to reclaim the past. Invent a future."
It is hard to get the energy and motivation to change your life. It takes time to get comfortable being alone without always being lonely. It takes a certain amount of healing before you can envision a future different than what you had planned before. But those are exactly the things that lead to renewal, happiness, and a life well lived. Today, decide one thing you can do to invest in a new future. You don’t know how long your life will be.