There are only 2 days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so TODAY is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live. – His Holiness the Dalai Lama
I couldn’t believe it. Like other human beings in the world (in my mind, you weren’t human if you didn’t have an ounce of empathy), I was speechless. The words I had just read hit me in my stomach and knocked the wind out of me: Kobe Bryant, age 41, killed in a helicopter crash. Surely, this wasn’t real. Surely this was a sick, twisted joke or the latest edition of fake news. But alas, it was true. And countless souls began to mourn the basketball legend and father… and his teenage daughter… and the pilot… and other passengers who wouldn’t be returning home. May they rest in peace. And still, these were a few of the thousands who transitioned in one day. May they all rest in peace.
While the thought of death leaves many trembling, one cannot truly grasp the beauty of life without its consideration. One cannot truly cherish the day without some recognition that tomorrow is not guaranteed. Whether you are a record-making NBA star with fans across the globe, or a 13-year old with so much potential, or a grandmother with little cache, the fact remains: every day the world has you in it is a day worth cherishing.
HHDL said it best: “…TODAY is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” I pray that today will be your most cherished, most loved, most lived day until the next. I pray that each day you are blessed to see grows exponentially in joy and fulfillment.
I pray comfort, precious memories, and light in dark days for the loved ones of those who are gone too soon. May we continue to remember one another in our hearts, and treat each other with the tenderness that results from understanding that life is not to be taken for granted.