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Jeff, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. What a timely post. People always told me I was an "angel" or asked me how I did it when I was a oncology/hospice nurse. The thing is, ultimately, your friend is right. We all die one day. And I was lucky as a hospice nurse to watch a lot of people die. That sounds so strange but it's true. I always said that my patients taught me more than I helped them. I learned what a peaceful death was. I learned how cancer doesn't have to be a death sentence but rather a life sentence. I gurantee your friend will tell you over the next several months that this is the first time he felt like he has REALLY lived. With no constraints. With no fear.
You know, a lot of people call me crazy. No, I am not. I am just lucky to see how it is to die when I am alive. So I don't ever take anything for granted. I don't hold on to trivial things. But you know, everything is trivial. Everything. The moment we take our last breath, most of the things that we thought meant everything, really mean nothing. And the things that we let slip through our fingers and put in the depths in our memories, those are the things that mean everything.
So gentlemen, all I can say is that even if it is for one minute a day, take a minute to realize that everything is just temporary. So embrace it. Before it's gone.
Love to you all.
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