I thought I would share some thoughts as on Aug. 9, my daughter Emily would have been 21 years old.
Happy 21st birthday to my daughter—such a special day stolen away by anger and hatred.
Here is what I have learned these last seven years: Death is impossible for us to fathom. It is so immense that we will do anything to avoid thinking about it.
Society is organized to make death invisible. This comes with a terrible price, the illusion of limitless time and the consequent lack of seriousness about daily life.
We are running away from the one reality that is facing us all. You must turn this around; make the thought of death not something to escape, but to embrace. All our days are numbered. Will you pass them awake or half-hearted? Will you live with a sense of urgency?
Feeling death will make all your actions more certain, more forceful. This could be your last throw of the dice—make it count.
I have learned this life lesson in the hardest way. Instead of celebrating with my daughter Emily and looking into her beautiful eyes, seeing what the future would hold, I can only hold the memory of my darling 13-year-old girl. With no future or growth, the memory is tragic for me and all she touched.
Time is all we have. We don’t realize that it’s not counting up, but down.
Never waste another moment, because time can never be recaptured!
Michel Shane