Realigning Priorities

Sometimes the petty frustrations of life become overwhelming. I suppose it is easy to lose perspective of what is important, especially when you become so caught up in the day to day details of life. On Sunday I received news that instantly forced me to realign my priorities and allowed me put all of the petty worries into perspective. 

My cousin's husband passed away suddenly. I cannot comprehend the sense of terror that she must have felt when finding her husband unresponsive on the floor.  Within hours, he went from being alive and seemingly well to being declared brain dead and donating his organs so that others may live. Although I am not surprised by the family's decision to donate his organs, I remain in awe of the strength of his wife and daughter to think of others in the midst of their tragedy. Organ donation is an act which hits close to my heart. My step-brother was the recipient of donated lungs, a gift which considerably extended his life.

Although we have never been close, in all honesty I can only recall seeing my cousin and her husband four times in the past twenty years, I can't fathom the overwhelming grief that she and her daughter must be feeling. The fact that we are in the midst of the Christmas season must compound the sense of loss. Of course, there is never an ideal time to lose your soul mate.

Between snowball battles and cookie baking, my thoughts keep migrating back to my cousin. Her loss has demonstrated that life is so unpredictable and precious. In an instant everything can change.

I don't want to live life in fear of a tragedy, but I also don't want to become consumed by the petty and irrelevant issues that often arise. I'm simply tired of fretting over the inconsequential. In the scheme of life, those petty issues (and people) really don't matter.  Instead, I want to concentrate on the present and try to create memories and relationships that will help sustain me through life's turbulent changes.