There are flies on the windscreen...

Partial lyrics from Depeche Mode "Fly on the Windscreen"

"Death is everywhere
The more I look
The more I see
The more I feel
A sense of urgency ..."

Death is sobering. Today I learned a younger cousin of mine died, unexpectedly. Earlier this year my oldest cousin died. (I have a large extended family with many first, second, and third cousins). We sadly lost two friends here in Merida this year. There was a beautiful and brave, young woman Jill Conley who fought cancer. I was following her story and she lost her battle this year. People die all the time, along with the famous ones like David Bowie, and Prince.

We feel the pain of losing someone. (The closer the relation, the harder and longer to grieve and cope understandably.) But we also remember what is truly important to us. How does this affect or change our behavior? It's so easy to get caught up in the daily dramas, or what I sometimes call nonsense, and does much of it really even matter? Maybe sometimes, but not usually.

Life is hard, and also beautiful.

What matters is to let people know how much they are loved, and their importance to you. To try and do the good we can each day. Whether it's an acknowledging smile to a stranger in passing, holding our tongue when the words might start an unnecessary conflict, to pray for others, to help when asked, or maybe greater actions with greater resources, and to also be kind to ourselves. We are usually doing the best we can, right? Sometimes it takes the right perspective, and choosing to make the effort because we never really know when our time will be up.

Once I heard a sermon on the love passage in the Bible  (1COR 13:4-8)
The suggestion was to substitute 'love' for the name Jesus, which I believe that He was all those qualities. Then try substituting 'love' with your name and see how you pan out..... well, Andrea can be patient, kind, etc. but not all the time, nope, not this perfectly-imperfect human being. But it's a good direction to aim toward.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (NIV version) - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13:4-8 

In the end, how would we want to be remembered?