10d ago (edited) in Words of Wisdom
Life is Easy (4 mins)
A good life is as simple as this: You’re born crying in a room full of happy loved ones welcoming you to the world; you die happy in a room full of crying loved ones upset to see you go.
Sickness, death and grief have been recurring themes in my family for a while now. It seems there is no shortage of terminal illness or flat out death. In all of this there is an important lesson which we may take for granted. You can quite literally see the measure of impact an individual has had in their life by the number of people who rush to their bedside when their time is dwindling or passed.
Some of my relatives have visitors from across the country, across the world even just to spend precious moments together, to hear untold stories and share some final moments of laughter and joy. Other relatives were not so fortunate, not so popular, ultimately could not have felt as loved.
The approach I have taken in recent years, since loosing my grandad, is to give your loved ones their flowers whilst they are still with you. I think it was Andrew Garfield who said that the feeling of grief is just all of the unreleased love you didn’t get to show that person when they were alive. I take this very literally and it terrifies me so I spend as much time as I can with my nans, listening to their stories and their wisdom, taking interest and making an effort. I try to do this whilst they are in relatively good health now because I don’t want to feel the sudden burden of panic to rush to the bedside when illness hits, to cram in some memories in the short time they may have left. I want to cherish these people whilst I have them, and they have their health.
Until recently, I had been prioritising my nans because they are the eldest members of my immediate family, and I assumed that their time would be the shortest. I learned the hard way that this is simply untrue and instead now I endeavour to make the most of the time I have with all of my family members.
For a lot of us, we’re so keen to “start” a family, we’re in such a rush to extend our family with our own children that we forget that we can care for, and provide for the family we already have, those who have already been caring for us. Proverbs 11:25 tells us “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” I take this to mean that the true, genuine, unconditional love you show to your family and loved ones will be returned to you when your days are numbered and your own health dwindles.
Make the effort to be compassionate and connected each and everyday, you can build that room of loved ones day by day with the actions you take. You can nurture that successful life by fostering relationships and sharing your love.
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Life is Easy (4 mins)
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