Time is not something you can take back. We see so often the phrase:
Don’t take the important people in your life for granted.

Image from:
Pixabay

A few days ago while having lunch with my Mom, she said she wished she could see her parents again. I wish I could see them again too.

We have a tendency to not take advantage of the time we get to spend with those we love. We’re always a step ahead. Always thinking of the next visit, the next conversation, when we should be staying in the present moment.  How many times have we heard:
My last conversation with my son, my wife, my husband, my best friend whatever was a mean word, a fight?

I don’t want to be morbid.  Is that REALLY how you want to remember your last conversation?  No one knows when their number is up.  So always be kind.  Say I love you to those who matter.  Show your love.  Don’t just tell those you love them.  Show them.  Spend quality time with your loved ones.  Listen to them.

There are people in my own life I miss whether they’ve been taken from me because of death or simply because we drifted apart.  A couple of people have drifted away from me and sometimes I wonder whether I could have done more to keep us close.  In the end however, I realize that’s how life goes.  

God puts people in our lives when we need them and takes them away when we no longer need them.  Harsh as that may sound, I’ve come to accept it.  It doesn’t have to sound harsh, it’s all in how we interpret it.  I’ve seen this in action many times over.  Another way of saying this is when a door closes, a window opens.  My childhood friend, Joe and I drifted apart shortly after high school.  When I look back at that friendship, it is truly amazing it lasted as long as it did.  We were separated by distance for much of our relationship, by well over fifty miles at some points in our friendship.  Somehow, we maintained our strong friendship through this adversity.  We were each each other’s best friends.  His was the longest lasting friendship I’ve had.

That door closed in the mid 1980s when we both went in different directions with our lives.  Joe will always be a part of my life and It is difficult not to think of him occasionally.  That’s why it is so important NOT to take for granted the people in your life.  For you never know when they will no longer be in your life.  Make sure you express your love for EVERYONE in your life.  When you end a conversation, say:
I love you!
When you leave their presence,

Reach out and hug them.

Show them how much you care.  You might not get that chance tomorrow.

When the door closed on my friendship with Joe, a window did indeed open and a new friend crawled through.  It’s fascinating to me how seamlessly this new friend fit into my life.  We had more in common than Joe and I did:
We were both writers.
We had similar experiences growing up.
We both had a strong affinity for Block Island.

After all this, my initial reason for writing this column today stands:
Don’t take time or the people you spend that time with for granted.
Tell the people in your life that you love them.
SHOW the people in your life that you love them.

For you have no idea when the last time you see them will be!

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris

Once you realize that life is eternal,
That our souls our eternal,
That we return to light and physical over and over;

We then lose all our distress
We then lose all our fear of dying.  For there truly is no end.