A friend of mine posted this and I am sharing it with everyone.

Often times I will not show how grateful I am but my gratitude is overflowing for the multitude of blessings in my life. After more than six decades of existence, I don’t blow candles to make wishes anymore. To say that my cup is over-filled with joy because of family, friends and acquaintances is an understatement.

My life journey is made up of rollercoaster rides. I have felt the pangs of hunger, the sadness of solitude and the disappointments in failure. To be where I am today was not an easy climb. There were days when you wondered if principles could be exchanged for an extra meal on the table or a temporary material joy. But because I sleep better in the evenings with a clear conscience, I will always choose to embrace good.

While there are days of despair and frustration, there are good ones as well. Whichever is the overwhelming one, dictates our mood for those days. We cry. We get angry. We laugh. We grieve. We complain. We are, after all, human. When it is not right, we have the right to express our grievances, so that mistakes are corrected and justice prevails. We cannot take everything sitting down and leaving it to our God to exact vengeance or a come uppance on. There are just situations that need a normal human reaction – and not simply walking away.

Yet with whatever drama life provides, there are a million and one and more reasons to be grateful for. Our daily bread. Our friends and family who share our joys and pains. Another sunrise or sunset to experience. Another day to be grateful for in spite of it all. Each morning, we get to create a new beginning in the chapters of our life.

Let’s not forget that in this world,

Someone else is happy with less that what you have.

No one wants to write about death. Or dying.

To many, it’s not only a morbid topic. It is taboo to talk about it.

Of course we’d rather talk about the joie de vivre in our daily chronicles. It is, after all, what sparks joy.

Death is a stranger to this world. Until it comes knocking at your door.

For most of us, we go through the routines of daily living – Eat. Pray. Sleep. Love. Hate. Work. – Repeat!!!

But life is never fair. And neither is death.

Those who died yesterday had plans for this morning.

And those who died this morning had plans for tonight.

Don’t take life for granted. In the blink of an eye, everything can change. So, forgive often and love with a full heart. You never know when you may not have that chance again.

When we make plans in our life, death is never on anyone’s bucket list.

After all, no one prepares for death except those who are terminally ill. They’re actually the lucky ones. Those taken in their sleep or who die tragically, leave behind a family or loved ones who will never be able to say their final goodbyes.

No one knows exactly when our time in this world is up. Here today, gone tomorrow.

The last six months were brutal and painful. Many people who were very close to me had passed on. Death was on the doorstep each month. While we grieve at the loss, there is a bit of joy in the closure of pain and suffering. It takes the sadness of life, to appreciate the beauty of death.

If there are two things that are permanent in this world, it is change and death.

Nothing in life is promised except death.

– Kanye West