Living and Writing about it

A few days ago my husband came home from work looking quite downtrodden because someone at his work had jumped from their building. It's a large company, and my husband had never met this man who took his own life. But it didn't matter that he didn't actually know him. Maybe it was just the proximity, but the fact that he was in the same building with this man, who clearly needed help, upset him to no end. He could have walked past him that morning and not even known it. Maybe he could've smiled and asked him how his day was going. Could it have made a difference? Who knows? We never will.

But it really made us think about a few things.

First, we are very blessed to have our families, faith, and friends. Although things can seem pretty tough sometimes, we still know that we are very fortunate. Be grateful for all that we have.

Second, it is important to remember that our actions can affect others. Who knows if anyone could have done anything to help that man on that terrible day, but what if someone could have? Why not treat everyone as we would want to be treated? It's really not that hard to do. Sometimes it just takes a little more effort on our part, but at the end of the day, we're much happier when we can say that we did our best.

Third, don''t be afraid to tell people how important they are to you. Every now and then, just make to express your gratitude for somebody. It's as simple as saying, "thanks for being there for me," or "I love you," or "you're awesome, Dad." You never know the difference this could make in someone else's life.

I know this all has nothing to do with writing, but I thought it was so important that I had to share it anyway. Besides, isn't that part of being a writer - using words to express the important things in life and come to a greater understanding or deeper knowledge of them?

I will say one final thing. Seeing my husband's heartbroken look, pondering how that man's family must feel, imagining how he must have felt, all brought me to this realization:

Life is a gift; don't take it for granted.

Yours or anothers. It can be gone in an instant. Several years ago, my dad died, and I felt what it was like to lose someone you love. It was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced, but from that experience I learned that it really is important to live each day to the fullest. Don't let opportunities slip by because you might never have them again.