The fragility of life

A few days ago my husband Mike heard about the death of a very old friend of his. We live in New Mexico, while his friend was still living in Spokane Washington where they had both grown up. They had even worked together for many years in local television. Mike found out that his old pal Vaughan had passed from a mutual old friend of theirs and his kids had posted the passing of their father on his Facebook page.  It's been a sad time for him, but the strangest thing is the fact that one minute your living life and the next you are simply gone.

A few years before that, life dealt another swift blow to two other of Mike's good buddies. Their names were Wally and Mike. I had met them years before when I lived in Spokane, they owned and operated a very successful garage where they specialized in working on foreign cars. I was always impressed with their shop. It was so clean you could eat off the floor and the sound system was first class and loud.

Mike died a few years ago quickly from Cancer. He had told my husband he sort of knew something was wrong but just didn't go to the doctor. A few years after that while undergoing a very long and complex surgery, Wally was permanently brain damaged after they kept him under anesthesia for too long. Sadly, Wally has deteriorated in the last year and is now in a home with the state of mind of a 7 year old. His long time love could no longer care for him at home, it just became too much.  

Life is so strange in so many ways. While I work as a Psychic and Afterlife Communicator, I am also human living in the physical body. I've always been fascinated by life after death, Spirit Guides and the spiritual side of this life. But at the same time, I still find it hard to wrap my mind around life itself. Here we are going along doing our best and ( in some cases) then we're gone, dead - just like that.

Many times while listening to traffic reports when I have lived in large cities like Houston, I wonder if that person who just died in that 3 car pile up, had any idea that he or she would leave home that morning and never return? This life, in many ways is such an odd concept, but, it seems that over time we just learn to live with the terms of this life and perhaps get used to it in some ways.

That is until something changes, like the death of a friend or loved one. This is not a sermon on appreciating what you have and how great life is, but, it is good to be grateful. There are always those who are having a tougher time of it than us.

The older I get, the faster time passes - or is that simply my perception of time passing? What a strange thing it is to get older and yet feel the same on the inside! To want to give advice to someone 20 years younger than myself and then stop and think how I behaved when I was their age.....better to keep my opinion's to myself for there by the grace of God........

Overall, this life deal is a pretty good one. Get the most out of it that you can. Time is so fleeting and this life so fragile, it's good to keep that in mind.

Sped up or fed up?

Perhaps you've noticed like I have over the years how much things have changed when it comes to the holidays, but more so the merchandising of the holidays. I could wonder why this is, but of course, it's all about money, consumerism and getting us to buy, buy, buy. Don't get me wrong, I am an avid shopper - to a point.

The other day I went to Lowes to look for a new fireplace screen since ours is falling apart. I had been there about a week before for something else. Now keep in mind it was January 18th, I would consider this the middle of Winter for the most part. The entire section of space heaters and fireplace supplies had been moved to the very end of an aisle with the front area full of barbecues and all the extra's they come with.

Shelves in the previous Winter area had been cleared and replaced with inventory lists of items to be stocked there. I found one fireplace screen and that was about it. I was going to ask someone if there were any others to choose from but it was pretty obvious - that was it!

So what is the big rush!!??  It's J-a-n-u-a-r-y! There's snow on the ground in many parts of the country, it's cold outside - cold enough to wear a coat, we have snow on top of the Organ mountains! (ok a dusting, this is New Mexico)

I was thinking back a few days ago and it was not like this when I was growing up - not even close. You can bet your last dollar that the day after Christmas huge displays are up and running now pushing Valentines Day!??

So I ask, "what is the big rush"? Is this who we are now or have become? Or rather is this a commentary on who or what the stores we support have become? I really have no idea. On one hand I think they wouldn't push so much merchandise if we didn't buy it and on the other hand, their thought could be, what do we have to lose?

A few of my friends have said they feel kind of down, sort of blah this time of year....well yeah! We've been in holiday mode since October first! To top it off this year, a radio station began playing ALL Christmas music the last week of October.......really?

Look, I love the holidays just as much as anyone else. I love to bake and decorate but I think this says something about our over the top, non-stop buying. I've noticed it in myself. I really have to stop and think what and why I'm spending my money on.

Look around, one of the fastest growing business's in our country are those mini storage unit places, they can't build them fast enough to keep up with the demand.  Maybe something to keep in mind as we begin this new year. Instead of hanging on to all that stuff, why not donate it or give it to someone who needs a hand?  There's something very freeing about it.