Sometimes I get that jolt of reality from the universe that makes me stop and ponder.  I received one of those a couple days ago when a neighbor of mine (who we had spoke to just the day before), called paramedics for difficulty breathing in the morning…and by mid afternoon….lay unexpectedly in a hospice…clutching to the last frayed edges of life, waiting on his beloved wife to make it there and bid goodbye.  He loved her so much that he waited for many hours for her to arrive….as she frantically tried to get back here.  You see,  she had taken a trip to visit family out of state, and getting back home would now become the longest journey in her life.

Anyhow, as I sat waiting for word…watching ’24′ on tv, I couldn’t help but think about how wrapped up we are in our every day lives…the minutia of it all.   And I began to wonder about how many people at that very minute were grieving or starving or suffering.  Here I was sitting there, eating a rice cake and enjoying my show in my everyday life…while my neighbor was desperately clinging to life.  And his wife….desperately making her way home.   I began to really think about the ensemble of  life…yet how we are all living so differently in the same exact moment.  Life is amazing.  And sometimes the reality of it all just grabs ya. 

As with most people I’ve met, I learned something from this man, my neighbor.   I learned that I can push through anything even when life seems an uphill battle (he had lung cancer).  To watch him out there with oxygen tank in tow, doing yard work and laughing with his grandchildren…every day a struggle but every day a joy.   Knowing that his life would eventually be cut short, but enjoying the love and laughter of his wife, children and grandchildren.   A lesson well received.   I’ll miss him.

He passed away quietly among loved ones.  His wife made it to share in his last hours.  Until they meet again, I’m sure they’ll share their love in dreams and spirit and the gentle breeze of a warm summer day.

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