Better Living Through Love

Death is inevitable. The moment we are born we begin to die. It’s imperative we live life to the fullest, and the way to do this is with a genuine heart, a strong mind and a will to survive.

We spend so much time hating. Statistics show heart disease to be the number one killer, but I disagree! Hate is the disease that’s really destroying humanity, and I think it’s time we seek a "real" cure – together. The enemy is out there, but it’s not what you may think. It’s the person who plays on our fears, and manipulates our minds. Sadly, so many are vulnerable, but we can change this when we advocate for each other, showing love and empathy. Forgiveness must be a factor too because we have more in common than you think.

Death must inspire us to live, especially to live a life guided by gratitude, selflessness, quality and more importantly, hope. Here’s to better living through love, and allow it to begin today with a hand extended.

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To one of the many heroes I’m lucky to know and a person I call a friend, know that you are beautiful. Your ability to go the distance, choosing love and compassion as your weapons has inspired me. You are the example to live by. The following is for you…

My heart is heavy, sad for your loss. I can’t begin to imagine your challenges, the emotional roller coaster ride you endured. Three years doesn’t seem that long, but when a love one is diagnosed with such a horrific disease like Alzheimer’s, each day can often seem like a lifetime, and when you add up each second, minute, hour, day, week, month and year – all the disbelief and tears – well, it takes its toll. That unplanned journey is never without sacrifice, and never in vain.

I remember your mother well. I recall the first time I met her. It was summer, and we were sitting in your living room listening to music. She was beautiful, friendly, and kind – a mother all children wished they had. (It’s funny, because as children we often think everybody else’s mom is better than our own, and as we get older we soon realize "all" mothers are cool. They do their best, raising us to be good people, and your mother did an extraordinary job, raising a daughter who is considerate, gentle, honest, giving, loyal and simply wonderful.)

I’m sure your mother accomplished much in her lifetime, before that fatal day when she learned of her diagnosis. I don’t know all of who she was because my interactions with her were few, but her legacy lives on through you – a daughter who, once the storm of sadness has subsided, will remember her mother not as a frail, broken spirit robbed of memories, but as a strong-willed woman who lived life to the fullest. (I am forever grateful to your mom because she gave to us, your friends – you.)

As time moves forward you’ll recall the happy moments more often than not, realizing that sadness doesn’t live here anymore, because once your mom drew that last breath and exhaled – peace arrived, lifting her up and out of her body. I’m happy because her spirit is free to soar – to live again. There’s no more pain, being bound and lost. (I’m not sure what happens after death, but choose to believe the soul is reborn, perhaps taking on a new form. I do know anything is better than those last three years.)

How undaunted you were, my dear friend, standing by your mother to the very end. As you championed her grave cause I hope someone was supporting you, because the mixed bag of emotions you must have been carrying had to have been heavy. I know people who’ve traveled your road and jumped ship, but you weathered the storm to the very end, and how fearless you are, and brave. You’re my hero!

You remain in my thoughts and prayers. Let’s together celebrate your mom’s peace. Her journey is done, and now yours can begin again. I said at the beginning the unplanned journey is never without sacrifice and never in vain. Take the latter and allow it to be a barometer for how you go forward in life. Live each day with vigor. Your mother’s death tells us all to live life to the fullest. I remain forever your friend – much love in friendship.

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It’s a scary thing to lose one’s mind because it most often leads to a hopeless, meaningless existence. It's up to us to be a beacon of hope and to challenge the cause for those who lose their minds under unfortunate circumstances. We must preserve the quality of their thoughts in our minds, so that they too live on forever. – paerki