A Lesson Only Death Can Teach...

"The ONLY way to cheat death is to LIVE THE SH*T OUT OF YOUR LIFE..." 

It's taken me all week to find just the right words to write this post..

Last Saturday I was blessed to be present at the Celebration of Life of Brian Carty - an exceptional man who was taken from this world too soon. 

I say "blessed" deliberately, because I left the Celebration a different person than when I arrived. 

I had never met Brian but my daughter is friends with his son Ian. She had spent time with them both just before tragedy struck - I attended the service to be a support for her, and I was blessed by the experience.

My daughter had a very difficult time processing Brian's death, in large part I'm sure due to the fact that she couldn't fathom losing a parent at the age of 20...my heart ached for her and I tried desperately to find just the right words to help her make sense of it all...I'm not sure I was very effective in that regard at the time - my hope is that this post will help her, and the rest of us, make sense of death when it seems so senseless...

It became apparent to me from the words of those who knew Brian, that he was a very special human being. It would seem that he made a difference in the lives of everyone who ever crossed his path. He clearly made a greater impact in his short 54 years than most people might make if they lived twice as long. It's easy to understand why people were speaking of what a great loss the world has suffered as a result of his untimely death...

However, I think in some ways, focusing on the loss, does a disservice to the life he lived. 

I'm going to suggest that the only way to truly honour the life of such an exceptional person, is to focus on what a gift he made of his life. To focus on how the world is an infinitely better place by having had him among us, even for a short time.

What if each of us, whether we knew Brian Carty or just knew OF him like me, used this moment as a reminder of just how fragile life is and how the only way to truly beat death, is to live each day to the fullest, like you are "expecting" death in some way...

You see, if we go through life like death is some far off possibility, we will take our loved ones for granted. We'll put off chasing our dreams and making our difference in this world. 

Instead, what if we lived each day like it's our last chance...to make a difference, to watch the sunset, or to tell those that matter most to us that our lives are better with them in it? 

Death can only rob us of the things we haven't done. 

Let's not leave anything to be robbed of. 

Let's live our lives in such a way that when death comes, there is nothing to take but an empty, well-worn bucket...

In the middle of Brian's Celebration of Life, I made a promise - a promise to a man I had never met - that I would stop waiting for an excuse to celebrate life. 

I made a commitment to pop open a bottle of bubbly every Friday for the rest of my Fridays on earth - whether it's a teeny tiny bottle when I'm alone like tonight, or one big enough for sharing with those I'm surrounding myself with on a Friday night.

I will not let another week of my life go by like it's not a big deal...this life is a crazy BIG DEAL!! 

I guess I needed to be reminded of that today...

My hope is that the way Brian lived his life will be a reminder to you too. A reminder to live your life in such a way that every week is worthy of a celebration! xo

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