Life is Precious

Tonight I sent this out as an application for a writing job. I don't know much about the work or the company. But it sounds interesting, pretty much any paying job sounds interesting, really.

Anyway, I wrote this over a year ago, just about the time my Dad died. It's still quite nice. I decided to reprint it here. It was one of my BackWash articles when I write a column there called Bewitching Vagabond.

Life is a precious thing. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, I wouldn't want to waste this one. I don't understand suicide bombers, serial killers. One year ago my Dad died and just one month later my brother was in a car accident which could have killed him.

I was thinking about life and death. Not in a gloomy, gothic, bad poetry way. I was thinking about all of it, pushed into one tiny space. Life being the day to day things, your ancestors, our world and our future. Also, karma and fate. Happiness and all those other emotions that bring colour to life.

Do you really appreciate life? What if you had to consider euthanasia? Would you really want to give up on yourself? How bad would things have to be? Do you dare to give up when there are so many advances in medicine and science. Something new to fix, cure or heal you could come along on your own day after. What terrible irony that would be.

Do you really appreciate each day of your life? When did you last take a moment to admire little things in nature. When did you last pick up an interesting rock? When did you last admire the stars or the sky after a good rain or the way everything gets that orange glow for a few moments at sunset. When did you last take a deep breath and be glad you have lungs? So many things so easily taken for granted, forgotten. It all matters. What would life be without them.

Do you really appreciate the people around you, in the world? Do you take a moment to acknowledge people, even a lowly peon of a cashier? Do you thank serving staff when they bring you your coffee? Do you notice when someone does a small kindness like holding open the door? Do you respect and expect good things of people or do you belittle them to make yourself feel less insignificant? What do you see when you look around at all the people in the world. Are they even there for you or do you walk along trying not to be seen or not looking up once, at all.

Life is precious. We don't know what happens after life is gone. No one has ever come back to let us know.