the gift of life

 

Yesterday, I just received some heartbreaking news of a tragedy that took someone’s life quite unexpectedly, so today I am especially mindful that there is no guarantee any of us will live to see another day. Even though I didn't know this person personally, I am a friend to someone who does, and I am aware just now of how often I take life for granted.

Life is precious beyond telling. I suspect that most of us have no idea how precious it is until someone we know and love is gone. I think of all the situations and circumstances in life that cause us to be upset, angry, impatient, divisive, and petty. But, in the end, I would wager that about 95 percent of what we worry about isn’t really worth worrying about. I think of how much energy we invest in putting others down when we feel they deserve it. I think of all the needless arguments we have and of how easy it is to nurse a grudge against someone who has hurt us.

How much richer life would be were we to truly value life, to acknowledge the inestimable worth of all the lives we encounter each and every day. How much better life would be if we just took the time to look deeply into the eyes of another and see the sacred mystery before us just as they are…imperfect, always a work-in-progress, but fully loved by God and made in God’s very image.

Earlier in the day, I took a picture of a newborn with her mother, our neighbors who live across the street. In the space of a single day, my heart was filled with happiness for a life that is just beginning and sadness for a life that has just ended. And I think of all the people around me every day, and I marvel at the wonder that all I have is today to cherish them and delight in the fact that, if even only for a short time, I get to know them and be their friend.

As long as I have breath, I want to live this way. To notice more and more the gift of life, to nurture the grace of loving with a spirit of generosity and receiving love in a spirit of gratitude. To let go of what doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things and to embrace with my whole heart what will truly endure.

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the gift of life

reflections by troy cady

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