A buddy of mine messed his ankle up today while sparring.
Shortly after that, I found out my grandmother fell on the weekend and got a pelvic fracture with some displacement.
And before both of these events, one of my employees told me she was going to have to take her great aunt off life support today.
Reminders like this—which is exactly how I try to receive them—should be given space where their true weight can be felt.
…Because what they could serve so powerfully as are reminders of our impermanence… of life’s temporary nature… of our vulnerability.
…Of precisely what makes this life so very precious in the first place.
When you come across an injury in your life—remember to give thanks to what’s uninjured.
When you come across a serious injury—remember to give not just that person a more serious space where they can feel the full weight of your support… but to give the same to yourself… maybe not to feel support, but to feel gratitude for what’s seriously still going right.
When you come across death—don’t hide from it. Don’t just leave others to deal with it. Don’t suppress your feelings about it. Let it give rise to that potent feeling of delicacy… that terrifying feeling of the ticking clock… the thoughts of consciousness fading to black.
And let it serve as just as potent of a reminder… to live.