Someone Died Today

The hustle and bustle of everyday living is going on. In syncopation there are those who are waking from slumber, those who are lying down in rest, and those who are making the most of the daylight they have left. Neither of them are taking note of the other, yet their lives are making up the fabric of NOW. We are all loving and loathing, eating and drinking, crying and laughing, and running and walking in perfect harmony – individually cooperative. And, without our perfect knowledge of the other, we are living and dying.

Someone died, today. While we are going about the business of our day, there are those who are mourning the loss of someone great (or not so great). While we are begrudging our jobs, our hair, our clothes, our spouses, and our lives, someone is taking their last breaths. We find moments to complain about our lot and what we will never have, there is someone who doesn’t have tomorrow to make a change. We lose ourselves in what would have or could have been while that one person is out of time – it will never be.

Someone died, today. They will never hear another ‘I love you’ or ‘Good job’ or ‘I’m so glad you’re here’; nor will they have the opportunity to speak those words. They will never feel the heat of the summer’s sun or the bite of winter’s frost. Do you wonder if they are missing them, now? It makes one wonder if they wish they could wake up early or go to bed late because of work. Are those who once complained about the annoying laugh or the nagging voice or the obnoxious chewing now longing for what once was and will never be, again.

So many of us go about our lives as if we have died. We complain, as if there is no hope for change. We mope around and shed tears over temporal things that will have no meaning, in the end. We look at what is, as if there is no chance for what can be. As long as we are breathing, there is hope for something more – we have opportunities to embrace and look forward to. We can still make plans and execute them. We can still love, laugh, and cry. Our tears are unspoken prayers that can still be answered. We have time. We have opportunity. We have moments that can be enjoyed, no matter the circumstance. We can begin, again.  

Someone was born, today. A shining ray of hope and promise. Joy and exhilaration flood the hearts and minds of those who have anticipated this very moment.  A barrage of heartfelt warm wishes are doled out, freely. Laughter fills the air, as the future is whatever can be imagined. A clean slate has entered our world and our minds are reeling with the thoughts of the future. Plans are written in pencil, leaving room for the ebb and flow of life. Mistakes are welcomed training moments. Failures are expected with the knowledge that a correction can be made. Nothing can dampen the high hopes and exuberant expectations.

Someone was born (again), today. The knowledge that every moment is lived out loud and with our eyes wide open. Nothing is withheld from us, if we are willing to dream (again), hope (again), and believe (again). We can experience the gleeful wonder of a new life beginning the journey of discovery. We can take a fresh look at what had become mundane in our lives. We can appreciate the splendor of color and sound and taste and touch. We can gain comfort in the smile of a loved one. We can appreciate each nuance of ourselves, without the murky judgments of the world surrounding us.

Someone died, today, is true. And, in that same moment, a new life begins.