Life is too short - Hug your loved ones

Sorry, but this may be kind of a morbid post but I thought it's important to keep life in perspective. In the last few weeks, I found out 3 horrible news

• One person committed suicide. He was in his mid-20s and a friend of a friend's brother
• One person died of cancer. He was in his early 30s and was a friend of an ex-colleague. He could have been saved, but ignored the symptoms until it was too late.
• One person is in critical condition and in a coma still. He is in his late 30s and a high school friend of Jaime. His friend was driving too fast on the freeway and both were not wearing seating belts. His friend died instantly and he is struggling for his life.

Why am I being such a downer? Well, these news just remind me that life is short and fleeting. We all need to be responsible for the decisions we make in life. Unfortunately, the decisions these people made in life caused them the ultimate price. It's so sad that they were/are so young. We all need to respect the how fragile life can be. We all need to take time to also take care of ourselves. That means, reaching out for help when needed, going to the doctor if we have symptoms, and minimize reckless behavior.

It also makes me think of all the other decisions we make in life. While they are not deadly, they affect our quality of life. We decide everyday whether we will criticize others or ourselves, whether we will be nice or mean to others, whether we will fight with others over petty little things. They may seem small but they add up and causes us and others to be hurt.

Life is so short. With these stories in mind, all I want to do is hug my loves ones and tell them how much I love them every day (regardless of my flaws and their flaws). I remind myself that pointing fingers at anyone is a waste of life energy and time. We are all flawed in someway and it is how we respond to situations that makes us human and possibly great or weak.

If we experience hurt in anyway in life, our instinct is to blame others, but really it's much better to first look at ourselves and say, what can I change? How am I contributing to this? Life is precious and takes patience, forgiveness, and humility everyday. So whatever it is that is going on, remember to hug your loved ones everyday!

- Lei