Musings on life and death

Today, I attended the funeral of someone I met volunteering for last week's US elections. She died last Wednesday morning, just eight hours after we huddled around the TV waiting for the results to come in. It's hard when someone you know dies, even harder when it's unexpected, and harder still when that person was young--Jillian died in a car crash at the age of 21.

I find myself grasping for answers, meaning, sense in something so nonsensical. Here's what I've come up with: Life is uncertain. Enjoy it. Love more, worry less. Accept that death is inevitable, for you and for the people you care about, so don't endlessly put off important things like dreams and forgiveness.

Contrary to the popular saying, though, you can't live each day like it's your last. Otherwise, you would never go to work or do the laundry. And, statistically speaking, you've got a lot of years left--and you don't want to spend them broke and smelly!

But even if life is long, it's still far too short to stay in a job you hate, put up with people who treat you badly, or otherwise allow chronic stress to wear you down. Of course, there's no guarantee that finding satisfying work, surrounding yourself with wonderful people, or being true to yourself will add years to your life, but it will improve whatever years you have.

Here's to life's bittersweet uncertainty.