“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again”
Etienne de Grellet
I recently read a post titled ‘The hierarchy of grief’ by Taya Dunn Johnson that got me thinking on so many levels. It was about a widow’s experience of the barrage of social media condolence messages or what she called ‘social media grieving’.
Below is an excerpt from her post;
“Your love and expressions of support are appreciated and needed, but they can also be ill-timed and create unintended additional stress”.
She makes a very good point about pausing before rushing to social media to leave posts and messages about a deceased.
Thinking of this has got me wondering…
“Why do we give so much love in death than in life?”
It’s almost like we save the best of our love, for last (you called it Vanessa Williams!)
I had an important realisation about this subject this week. I have this friend whom I have been upset with for a while now due to something that was entirely his fault.
Mmhmm!
Anyway, I was upset with him and decided that I was going to bask in it. Oh! Believe me, I have done my walk of shame and made peace with him because I decided I would rather show love (and a piece of my mind) to my friend while he is alive than sing his praises at death.
What would the world be like if we actively SHOW our appreciation, love and value for each other while we still live and breathe?
Everyone will die, that is certain.
What will our experience be while we live?
“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again”
Sista Seiz... 
Yeah ” Oge Adiro 😀”
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Yes oh! Abi. Thank you for reading.
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A thought provoking article. Thank you Millicent. It reminds me of Psalm 90 v 12 and Psalm 39 v 4, where the psalmist asks the Lord to teach us to number our days. May God help us to do things at the right time. Life is brief, so may we never regret any lost time or opportunities to show love to others around us.
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Thank you for reading Kudzi and for your comment. I quite agree, no matter how busy, stressful or exciting life may be, it is still brief. So, it is helpful to keep that in focus.
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So true Millie, it sometimes takes loss to cause us to pause and care. Thanks for sharing.
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I agree Daby, Thanks for reading.
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Great, thought-provoking post Millicent. You are so right that we need to show our love and appreciation for others in life, those little messages of encouragement that can turn around someone’s day are so important. I think the saddest part of my job as a medic are phone-calls to try to track down a friend or relative of a dying elderly patient to be with them in their final moments. This happens more often than people might think; I’d like to think that if we live our lives showing love and encouragement to others (whether family or friend) then we won’t find ourselves in this lonely situation.
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This write-up tug’s at my heart, because it ties in with my resolution going forward. Well done Millicent, this piece provokes reflection and its inspiring.
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Thank you do much for your lovely comment Chinwe! So happy you found it encouraging. X
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