I. Love. You.

Put together, those three words are mighty powerful. As I ponder the loss of my soul mate, Ben, and my mother, and contemplate the impending death of a friend of Ben's, I'm humbled. As I think of this friend's wife, it's difficult to avoid the total recall of my own journey, which ended nearly a year ago. I feel her pain to the bottom of my soul. And it makes me think about my future. I know my "self" well, so I know that I will not remarry, but I think about those three words and know that I would be remiss in denying their entry into my life again. I know that there are people who have lost a lifelong love who, to this day, have not allowed joy back into their lives. To me they're just as "gone" as their loved one. I have too much love of life to become a rock. I prefer to be an eagle, to soar the wide world, seeking those things which I know are part of being alive. It's all part of taking care of yourself, and sharing the things that can bring happiness to someone else. I know as well as anyone just how small that speck is that we call our lifespan.  

"I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss(es), or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have -- life itself."  
                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                           ~ Walter Anderson