REPOST: Because tomorrow is not promised to us...

[candygrenade]

Sharing a piece written by a dear friend:

Two years ago I was given a gift. My sister was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. It had metastasized to her lungs, her liver, and her kidneys. It spread like wildfire across her shoulders and down her legs. She is now in what is in all probability the last 18 months of her life. She is on oxygen and losing her vision. She can no longer walk unassisted and even then it is with the plodding steps of someone who should be much older than she.

And that is her gift to me.

As I watch her bravely fight against this disease, I realize the very fragile aspect of life. I can see plainly before me how easily it can all end. I can now understand the concept of not putting off tomorrow.

My sister did. She was always worried about her weight, her clothes, whether people would look at her funny. Now make no mistake, often times she did what she wanted anyway, but always it was a struggle to get past the initial ‘what if people laugh or make fun’ block that so many of us have. As I chat tonight with a friend, I listen as he talks of wanting to do things but only after he has the six pack he wants and I am reminded of my gift. Reminded of it so much that I want to share it with you.

Life is now.

Don’t wait for things to be ‘better’ or for yourself to be ‘better’. Live NOW.

I watch my sister and realize that all the things she kept waiting to do are now gone. She will never run a marathon or dance naked in the moonlight. She will never fly to Europe or write that novel she was always talking about. She will never ride another horse in an event or learn Russian. All of those things that she thought she had time to do. And now she doesn’t. She has neither the time nor the physical ability to do them.

So to all of you… this is it, you guys! There will never be a more perfect moment than right now!

I lost 25 years of my life to the insecurity of my body. I let moments slip out of my grasp because I was too scared to let others see me naked. I cropped myself out of pictures with my children because I hated how I looked. I stayed behind the camera observing life instead of participating in it.

That all ends because my sister is ill.
That all ends because I now understand that this is all I get.

I am 40 years old. I ain’t getting younger. I have wrinkles on my face and cellulite on my thighs. I have a belly that once housed life and now wobbles and hangs down. My breasts, which once nourished my children, now point straight to the ground. And I am through waiting for those things to change before I get out and do the things I want to do, before I get out and experience all the things I have been dreaming of.

So prepare yourselves, people of my community. If fat and wrinkles aren’t your thing, look away because I am no longer hiding mine.

And for everyone else. STOP! Stop waiting. Stop thinking “tomorrow I will…” or “when I am smaller, thinner, etc, I will…” No. Now is all you get. Now is all any of us get. Don’t let the fear of other people and what they think stop you from living a single moment of your life. Because at the end of it, they won’t care and they don’t matter.

Today is your chance. Get out and make something happen. Enjoy a new experience. Step into your fear and begin the process of getting through it. Step past, over, or around those who will want to stop you, those that want you to be ashamed of who you are. F— them!

Live in the present. Love in the present. And most of all DO in this your present.

[patriciaheart]

This sank today.

Today I feel thankful.

I had scary sleep paralysis and several false awakenings a few hours ago and I have had a lot but this is different. I really though I was dead since I cannot wake myself up! I though sh!t I am really dead, wtf is gonna happen now why can't I move??? I though maybe I died because someone smothered me or I had a heart attack or something. Even freakier is that as I was floating in the dream (I did not see myself) I was led to this staircase going up with musicians wearing barong and playing guitar on the steps stopped playing and said "This will be your last stop" and I said to myself sheesh this is gonna hurt, I am pretty sure I am going to hell or at least purgatory since I missed mass this Sunday,,but confused since I felt in my heart I was going UP there but I had to take the steps to err finally die?! ahaha but then a guy to my left wearing a white barong with a white mask said "No, you think about it first". So I was led away and I don't remember but I did wake up in time.

Everyday is a miracle!!

[momentum]

Thanks for sharing..very insipiring

It's time to get up and truly LIVE the present!

[candygrenade]

I make it a point to live each day in such a way that if I die tomorrow, I know I would die contented, without regrets, or at least “a greater happiness of unhappiness.” Past, present and future are all one and we can only change what we are doing at present. We worry so much about tomorrow that we forgot to LIVE today, we end up regretting YESTERDAY without realizing there might no longer be another day...

[mrsonthego]

TS, thank you for sharing. I am guilty of always worried about the future, I spend many time with work and less with my family. My father died and I never got the chance to spend more time with him, and it's too late...

Thanks for sharing

[pinklilac]

I make it a point to live each day in such a way that if I die tomorrow, I know I would die contented, without regrets, or at least “a greater happiness of unhappiness.” Past, present and future are all one and we can only change what we are doing at present. We worry so much about tomorrow that we forgot to LIVE today, we end up regretting YESTERDAY without realizing there might no longer be another day...

guilty ako dito. Thanks sis for sharing.
yan din madalas ituro sa akin ni husband na wag na raw ipagpabukas ang gusto mo gawin ngayon dahil hindi natin alam kung buhay pa tayo kinabukasan.

[pinkadelic]

I needed this.

I'm at a point where I'm working towards something that will give me rewards. But I've been miserable throughout the process that I have to force myself to deal with it every single day. Maybe it's time to listen to what my heart is telling me. I don't necessarily have to give up on the path I'm currently taking. I just need to make a few adjustments and keep them in tune with what I want. Besides, I'm not getting any younger.

Thanks for posting

[red_yesha]

Thanks for sharing. This is a good reminder to everyone.

Don’t let the fear of other people and what they think stop you from living a single moment of your life. Because at the end of it, they won’t care and they don’t matter.

Today is your chance. Get out and make something happen. Enjoy a new experience. Step into your fear and begin the process of getting through it. Step past, over, or around those who will want to stop you, those that want you to be ashamed of who you are. F— them!
Live in the present. Love in the present. And most of all DO in this your present.

[pinklilac]

Buhayin ko lanh itong thread na ito para mas maraming ma inspire.
lagi ko ni re remind sarili ko na I enjoy kung ano meron ako NGAYON ...

[minatay91]

haha the whole "until I get a six pack" thing hit me..I always told myself, no facebook pic of me in a bikini until I have abs and get boob surgery xD

Thanks for the reminder bumping up for anyone who just needs a reminder.

Life is too short.

[akomaldita1125]

Grabe naiyak ako and at the same time napaisip...