How Will They Miss You?

We live our lives in so much of a blur,
We have no idea of the cost we may incur,
When death makes its unpredictable stake,
Those left behind are left

With that unmistakable ache.
Staring back at that haunting scene,
Considering what on earth our lives have been,
We are left with an awesome opportunity,
To get in touch with our familial community.
When all’s said and done, family count,
We hardly realise now just the amount,
We can save the regret if we make the effort now,
And leave them with memories all to endow.

***

Death is a cruel reality for the family man or woman that leaves loved ones behind.

What should haunt him or her – the idea that they leave behind a myriad of potential – and because of that will be sorely missed – doesn’t really occur to them.

Most people think death won’t happen to them. Everyone knows they’ll die, but few people imagine that death stalks us all. We take for granted the breath in our lungs and the electricity in our hearts that keeps us alive. We focus so much on having enough for our retirement, yet we focus so little on the slim chance we mightn’t make retirement.

This is not about being morbid. It’s about making the most of our lives from a post-death viewpoint, so those regrets we might otherwise have will be few; so there is much less pain and more thankfulness for our lives from our loved ones.

***

If we live life more from the vantage point of our deaths, we gain much more meaning for a life well lived.

A life well lived must be a central purpose of life; a life of love, of peace, of joy.

***

How will they miss you? What is that you do now within your family that makes you indispensible? How do you operate in your community that people value you so?

We might think of the things we don’t do that we should do. But what about the things we do actually do. Can we do them better? Can we gain an appreciation of what these things are and plan how they might be done if we weren’t around?

Now is the time to make the difference you can make. Now is the time to be awake and aware. Now is the opportunity.

© 2014 S. J. Wickham.