“How can you learn nothing from someone you love dying? Doesn’t that speak to just how little you thought of them when they were alive?” – Unknown
I was there when my grandfather passed away eleven years ago in a hospice facility in New Jersey. I was in my early 30’s and his presence in my life was familiar and always expected. But as I was reminded that day, nothing lasts forever. For me, watching someone you love dying was a truly peaceful and cathartic experience, though I understand it’s not always so for everyone experiencing death for the first time.
Though he lived a long and prosperous life, his passing still affected me deeply – providing me with some much-needed perspective on love, life and everything in between.
Seeing someone you love dying raised one question for me: what did I learn from his death that could change the way in which I go on living?
It was a question that echoed in my heart over the next few years after all of my beloved grandparents passed away – what had I learned from their deaths?
Here’s the answer: step beyond your comfort zone and do everything you can for the people you love before their gone forever.
It might not sound like a revolutionary concept, but I assure you the impact is immeasurable, yet rarely practiced.
As you watch someone you love dying or receive the sad news from a friend or family member, the last thing you should be left with are regrets or a sea of excuses to justify a self-serving behavior.
Instead, you should experience a peaceful, fulfilling feeling knowing you assigned value to the relationships in your life through nothing more than your time, your attention, your humility and your care.
Never, ever forget that, “Life doesn’t allow for us to go back and fix what we have done wrong in the past. But it does allow for us to live each day better than our last.” – Unknown
Losing someone you love is a reality few of us will escape. Here’s hoping their death has inspired you to change how you’re living.