Life

http://www.justquotes.org/images/short-life-quotes-3.jpg

Life is truly a funny thing. A wonderful gift of course, but fraught with the unknown. Every day we wake, we face a number of possibilities - some known and planned, but for the most part, the possibilities before us remain veiled and unknown.

Because of all these unknown possibilities, life can be likened to a roller coaster ride. We get on board with, at best, a vague idea of what to expect. However it is not until the ride takes off that we truly experience it for all it's worth. With every high, there is an equal low; for every sharp twist and turn, there is a narrow straight; for all the fear and screams, there is also laughter and a feeling of giddy exhilaration.

The beauty and tragedy of life is that despite having a vague idea of what is in store for us, none of us truly know exactly when we will face that sharp turn, or have everything thrown upside down, or when it will end. We can't ever really know what is ahead of us, and so we cannot ever really prepare for it.

Because of our inability to prepare for life's challenges, most of us charge forth into every day oblivious to what is around us. We rush off to work or school and we focus on the little every day things that don't really mean anything. We worry about getting paid, and being able to pay the bills, and whether or not 'so and so' said this about us, and so forth. While I am not discounting these concerns - they are all valid, and I face these very same concerns every day - the fact of the matter is that we shouldn't let these concerns dictate the direction our lives take. It should never become the main focus.

Too often we forget to treasure those around us. We forget about the ones we love, or we neglect them. We forget to take in the beauty that surrounds us from our friends, our family, and from the very nature around us.

I was reminded of this today.

It is with great sadness that I write that Shaines good friend Francesca died tragically on Wednesday. She was only 32.

The news has come as a real shock to me, and I am quite upset. And I feel absolutely selfish to be feeling this way because I didn't know her as well as I'd liked to, and what I'm feeling simply cannot compare to the extreme pain her family and her friends, including Shaine, are going through right now.

I had only met Francesca a few times, and because she lived back in Perth I never had the opportunity to get to know her better. But from the moment I met her, I really liked her. She was a happy, fun, and friendly girl with a beautiful smile. She was a good, close friend to Shaine, and to many others. I can't believe that she is gone.

My thoughts and my prayers are with her family and friends.

Francesca - ciao Bella. I like to think that one day we will all meet again, and we'll finally get to know each other properly. Sleep peacefully.

With love, Mich xox