Seizing the Day: A Reflection on Life and Loss

Death.

It's a thief in many ways.

And it's also a powerful reminder to us of how fragile life is.

Today, my sister Lourdis would have been celebrating her 65th birthday.  She passed away 2 days before her 61st birthday. 

The message I shared on Facebook at the time of her passing, comes up in my memories each year on this day, and it always causes me to reflect on how fragile and unpredictable life truly is. It’s a sobering reminder that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Whether we are healthy or not, the number of days we have left on this Earth remains a mystery.

I, for one, am determined to live my life to the fullest.

I want to look back on my last day and say with confidence, “I lived the heck out of that life. It was an incredible ride, filled with highs and lows, scrapes and broken bones, and countless magical moments.”

This year, I thought to share my thoughts here - with you - in the hopes that they would also inspire you to live every day of your life to the fullest.

Here's an excerpt from my June 2, 2020 Facebook post:

"Let me start by saying that I wasn’t expecting to have to write this post for another 20 or maybe even 30 years. So if I sound a little bitter, forgive me. Today is my sister’s 61st birthday. Sunday evening, she passed away suddenly from a pulmonary embolism. Those words don’t even look real on the page. Reviewing my niece’s draft of my sister´s obituary is not what I pictured for today. Not what I pictured for a very long time. But life has a mind if it’s own. And death is part of it. I guess it’s what we sign up for at birth...I think the problem is that we forget that’s exactly what we signed up for. Somehow we go about living our lives and we forget that we are not guaranteed to live to 100. "

This reality begs the question: why don’t we live with this truth at the forefront of our minds? Why don’t we wake up every day and embrace it as if it might be our last? Why do we wait for the right time to take that dream trip, pursue our passions, or savor the little joys we often set aside?

We should be telling the people we care about just how much they mean to us.  

Every. Single. Day.

There’s no alarm that will go off to tell us it’s our last day, urging us to rush and fulfill our dreams and say our goodbyes. We need to live each day fully, with no regrets, because we never know when our time will come.

So let this blog post be your wake-up call. 

Yes, even as you navigate the challenging twists and turns, and ups and downs of separation and divorce, I want to encourage you to live your life fully and to see all of it as a gift.

There is no perfect time to begin living your life fully.

Perhaps it's even more important to find little ways to squeeze moments of joy out of your day because of how challenging this time of transition can be.

Here is my encouragement to you.

Don’t wait for someday to live your life. Don’t wait to love deeply. Don’t play it safe. Someday may never come. Seize every day with all the passion and intensity you can muster.

Carpe diem – "seize the day" – isn’t just a saying; let it be a call to action.

Let us all remember that life’s brevity is what makes it so precious. Let’s honour those we’ve lost by making every day count, by not waiting for the right time, but by living fully and fearlessly. Now. In this very moment.

Because as Abraham Lincoln famously said, "In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years."

Let's connect to explore how working with me as your Coach will allow you to navigate every stage of divorce with intention, and live every day to the fullest. Book Your Discovery Call here.