Usually that phrase is synonymous with actions that those speaking it would like to have excused. After all, if you only live once, then what does it matter the kind of actions you take? Something along the lines of "eat, drink, and be merry..."
Lately, however, I've been thinking of those words in another context. Like the ebb and flow of a river our lives constantly change from one moment of time to the next and we never know what exactly may be coming around the next bend or where the current may take us.
I think of a friend who is struggling with cancer and who has stared mortality in the face more than once especially recently.
My thoughts turn to another friend who, by the grace of God and the wonder of modern medical technology has survived numerous surgeries to try to give her back the life she had before tragic mistakes were made that nearly cost her her life and her family their wife and mother.
I ponder the passing of another friend who lost a battle with a debilitating disease that caused him to leave this world far too soon without ever knowing how much he would be truly missed.
Others I know have lost spouses, children, siblings, parents, and friends or have faced trials both seen and unseen that we may never know the full extent of. We are all on this "mortal coil" for a limited amount of time. What will we do with the time we have been given?
Will we spend our time chasing things of little value or will we take the time to treasure what we have? Will we share ourselves, our time, our talents with others and be a little more courageous or will we hold back out of fear or the chance of rejection? Will we be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little less judgmental even of ourselves? What will we do with our one life?
I don't know the answer to these questions for myself and I won't presume to guess the answer for others. All I know is that because I only have this one chance on the earth I need to try to make it the best that I can and do what I can to help others make their one life the best it can be as well.
If we only live once we better live our lives well, hopefully making the world a little better than it would have been without us...
So... in order to give my legions (ha ha) of readers an opportunity to follow me in another format since Google Reader is disappearing, I've set up an account with Bloglovin. If you follow more than one of my blogs you'll probably see this post again since in order to "claim" my blog I need to create a post. Bear with me... :) I figure giving people options is good, right? :)
If you want to follow using Bloglovin click on the link below. :)
It has been said that the less traveled, long, and sometimes lonely roads make all the difference in life...
I've found that is true...
I took a drive the other day and found myself on a deserted highway.
There was a time when this road was filled with cars traveling to far flung destinations. Journeys with a thousand stories attached to them. Then the winds of change and the ever turning wheels of progress decided that this pathway had fulfilled it's purpose. No longer would it carry the load of passing travelers.
Now it sees only the few who are willing to venture off the beaten path, along the backroads and byways.
I did not know where this road led. I simply followed it's worn path...
Still, I knew no matter how filled with ruts and rocks it was, like all roads eventually it would lead me to it's destination. As I drove the dusty trail I thought how, at times, life is like this forgotten path.
Sometimes we are taken down roads that seem to be filled with potholes and pitfalls. There are detours placed in our path and we wonder if we will ever find our way back.
Sometimes along our way we lose friends and loved ones and wish that we did not all have to travel this long road... And yet we do...
Still...if we're lucky - along with the challenges and losses we may face along the way - we also gain new friends and loved ones - not to replace the old, for that is impossible - but to add more richness and depth to our journey. With our experiences we may also find courage and talents we never knew we had. Things we might never have known if it hadn't been for the pathway we were on.
So,
I am grateful I took this less traveled road...
grateful for the lessons it brought to mind...
grateful, in a way, for the twists and turns of my own life's journey...
As I was writing this post I found this song that captured much of what I felt as I drove along the long forgotten road...
I've found it difficult lately to add much to my blogs.
I sit and watch the cursor -
blink...
blink...
blink....
It isn't because I have nothing to say, but rather that I'm not quite sure how - or even if - I should write. Would the words tumbling around in my head make sense if scattered across the page?
And so I wait...
I avoid writing about the depths of the things I feel...
I wonder if anyone really wants to read about the emotions that sometimes wash over me like unending waves pounding upon the beach. And even if they wanted to read it, should I write it?
You may have noticed that there is not a picture that goes along with this post...
There is a reason for that...
You see, a few weeks ago my computer decided to stop working and everything that was on the hard-drive was lost. Pictures, music, documents. Thousands of files that won't see the light of day again.
It got me thinking...how like that computer our lives are...
We take for granted that things will remain the same...people will never change, or leave, memories will never fade. We allow moments to slip away never to be captured again. We fail to treasure what we have when we have it and lose precious moments that won't return again.
For after much tribulation...cometh the blessing. - Doctrine and Covenants 103:12
It seems that no one is immune to the trials that are part of mortality. This has been a lesson that has been reinforced repeatedly over the past several months as I have watched those around me deal with sorrow, pain, illness, and loss of many kinds, and as I have dealt with those as well.
I was reminded again of the fragility of this temporal existence this weekend when I learned that a friend suffered the sudden loss of her sweetheart. Recently, another friend, in fact, an entire community lost a beloved member. Friends and family members have been ill. For others employment has been elusive. Still others deal with hearts that have been broken and struggle to hold on. The list could go on... In so many of these instances healing seems very far away. I am left wondering at times where in all of these moments are the succor and mercy that are promised for those who seek it?
Then I remember that I am not alone in these thoughts or questions. Even the Savior who was perfect, who descended below all things, felt momentarily forsaken at the end of his mortal life as he cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He who lived and died for me was tested above anything you or I will ever be called to endure. And in the end he knew he had not been forsaken or forgotten and because he endured to the end and passed through it all there is hope.
Through the words of Jeffrey R. Holland, "Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations...is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you]. (None Were With Him, General Conference - April 2009)
Because He passed the test, we can also. There is hope for all of us that after - indeed even during - the trial, we will be blessed. There is balm in Gilead. He will mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. He will not leave us alone. Healing will come whether on this side of the veil or the next. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)
I may not always understand why things happen the way they do. But there is comfort in knowing there is One who does.
