I found out today that an ex-co-worker of mine has 2 to 4 weeks to live. Hospice has moved into the house. The children are being prepped. And my heart is heavy. Heavy, yes because of loss and grief, but heavy too, because of "LIFE"...and lack of a true, authentic life that sometimes seems to be missing for me. I try to make it real. To say and live my truth. But am I REALLY living? To my fullest? Am I really teaching my daughter how to find her true self and be steadfast no matter what? There are always the cliches of "death is part of life", etc. But our society still has so far to go with truly embracing death. I hope my ex-coworker knows the gift they have given me, which is to re-assess my whole being. How many times do I wake up in the morning and turn on the tv instead of being still and quiet and going deep inside to get centered for the day? To know what it is I'm really feeling at any given moment? There's a wondeful quote by Elisabeth Kubler Ross who has studied death and dying for many decades (the first book of hers to which I was introduced was "On Death and Dying" in nursing school). She says:

It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we're alive - to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elisabeth_kublerross.html#ixzz1j1CiNLw9 My wish for us all is to live life as we truly are. In our flawed splendor. We are beautiful as is, and we need to know that. Here's to a more authentic you and me! And God Speed my friend. Love and Light. xoxo