WAYNE’S WORDS
Volume 5 Number 10
Tomorrow
Here we are again. Another month has passed and I have written nothing.
Unfortunately, this edition of Wayne’s Words is going to start out much the same as too many have over the past 12 months.
Someone close to me passed away earlier this month: an Uncle this time. I cannot believe the number of people close to me that have crossed over in the past year. It seems like every time I turn around or get a phone call… This has been a tough year on my friends and family.
Maybe as you read this, you will begin to realize how fleeting life is. I know we all say that we understand that concept, but I don’t know if we actually do. One day you can be talking to someone close to you and the next day…they are never coming back. You may have meant to see someone or give them a jingle and the next thing you know…they aren’t there anymore. We really need to cherish the people in our lives and treat them right and realize it could all be over tomorrow.
Tomorrow. That is an interesting word when talking about this subject. Tomorrow. It is not guaranteed. There is no way to promise tomorrow, is there? “I promise I will call you tomorrow.” How can we promise something that is so uncertain and mostly out of our control? Tomorrow may never happen. Tomorrow indeed does not happen for approximately 151,600 people each day on our planet. To those people crossing over it may or may not mean anything. What happens for them after they die is a completely different subject. The sadness and loss felt by those of us who are still here are what we can observe.
Let’s say each of us has a family and friends network of about 500 people (without technology - such as Facebook and twitter). That may sound like a lot, but this would include family (immediate and extended) co-workers, clients, people you talk to every day at the convenience store or coffee house, etc. That comes out to about 75,800,000 people on this planet that lose someone they care about each day. And that is about equal to the number of people living in California, Texas and Illinois combined! Crazy!
I’m really not trying to be a downer. What I am trying to say is that we should cherish each moment of not only our lives, but also the lives of those about whom we care. We don’t need to start saying “I’ll call you tomorrow – if we are both still alive.” That would just suck for everybody and it sounds like a line from a lame “buddy-cop” movie. I think it would be important that, as we make that promise, we just keep in the back of our mind the fact that tomorrow may never come. We shouldn’t start living like there are no tomorrows either. We should just realize how precious tomorrow actually is. We should continue to live for today and plan for tomorrow. Live with the thought and the hope and the joy of the coming tomorrow and treasure it when it arrives.
I know. “Duh, Wayne. Tomorrow NEVER comes for anybody. Today was yesterday’s tomorrow, but now it is today – it’s never tomorrow.” That is just a silly word game. When we are speaking of real life; the first part of the sentence is so true. Today IS yesterday’s tomorrow. I thank God I have it.
As we enjoy our holidays and the feasts and the presents and the gatherings and the parties and the camaraderie, pull those you love close and let them know just how special they are to you. Do it today.
Until Next Time,
Wayne
PS I made up a word this Thanksgiving. Its definition is: people in your life who are not blood relatives, but who are much closer than just mere friends. The word is FRAMILY. I made it up, not because I was being sappy, but because it is so much easier than saying “I am going to my friend’s folks house for Turkey Day. They are like family.”
“I’m going to spend the holiday with Framily,” is sooo much easier.
