Goodnight friends. Monday is always the hardest day, when you’re back to your weekly routine, after what often seems like a very short rest. We hope that your week is off to a good start and we want you to know that our prayers are with ALL of our friends, at all times. May God bless you all and keep you safe
Happy Passover to all of our friends who celebrate. Easter is also around the corner , so this is a very special time of year for many. Our thoughts are with those of all faiths. After all, We are all equal in the eyes of God. Enjoy the holidays.
Thank you for all of your warm wishes for Scott and Vanessa. As you may have already realized, I love my brother beyond description. Anything that effects my brother Scott, effects me too. His pain, is my pain and his happiness is my happiness, as well. I would walk to the ends of this earth and back again , if Scott asked me too. I would do it all, just to see him smile. That’s always been the way it is and it forever will be. So, thank you, from me, for rejoicing in their happiness at this time.
Throughout life, we find ourselves racing to meet the demands of our obligations and responsibilities in every day life. This includes everyone. We all just do this in different forms. Sometimes those “Races” become so much a part of our consciousness, that we forget to take the time to stop and quiet our minds enough, to create new memories with the people that we love.
So many times, you hear stories of those who come to the end of their life, with their most profound regret being, that they didn’t take enough time, to do JUST that. They only wish they had MORE time to spend, MORE words, not left unsaid. We must keep this in mind when life’s precious moments appear before us. Give yourself time to see these moments and to really be there, in the present for them. Leave nothing unsaid.
This reminds me of some very important things that I learned from our Father, Barry (Pictured above). When I think back upon our Dads short but magnificent life, the theme that remains in my mind is always, “How will you be remembered? What will your Legacy be ?”.
For me, my father was my greatest “Teacher”. He lived voraciously and dove into the abyss in the face of fear, in his every single move throughout his life. He was a true fighter and the essence of a survivor. Heart Disease had never met such a match.
He lived from his gut. If it felt right, it was right. He never worried about how others received him. He was about everything that was authentic in this life and he liked only those with the best of hearts. His soul was powerful, golden and blinding. There was just no one like him.
He was fiercely protective of his family and he left a strong impression on outsiders. Some people loved him, some people didn’t know what to make of him, some were envious of his brave spirit and some were only interested in the value of his dollar. But those who were loved by him, were forever changed by him. There was no love like his
We talked about his dying together, about 6 months before we lost him. I asked him if he was afraid. As a parent myself now, I realize how painful that moment must have been for him, to be asked that by his 12 yr old daughter. He looked away for a second and then responded, “I think everyone is afraid to die, Jessie. But When I die, always remember that there is nothing that I wanted to do, that I didn’t do. Always remember…. that I always took risks and I REALLY lived.” It’s 30 yrs later and those words still echo in my Mind.
What a beautiful legacy and a gift he was to me. It is most important to me to keep that legacy alive, through my children, my family and through all of those I cross paths with in my life. The meaning in my fathers life and his message of bravery is a tattoo on my soul. A radiant tattoo that will never fade. Love and live without fear. Risk for love. Risk for life. Live a life you can look back on and say, “If I go now, I have really lived.” What a gift to be able to say that. Let us all strive for that goal, to be able to say those same words and mean them, when we cross from this life to the next.
Remember kindness in your everyday life. Remember compassion in your dealings with all living beings. Remember to give love when you have it and find it within yourself, even when you feel have no more to left to give.
Most importantly, take time out for those precious moments in time, with the ones you love most. After all, it is THESE moments that define our legacy and our memory, in the minds of those that truly love us without bounds. For those that remember us and miss us because of who we were, and what we meant to them.
We pray tonight that all loving souls can live passionately and do so without fear in the face of opposition. We pray for precious moments, for all living things.
We end as always with our prayers for Gods most precious angels, the animals. Domestic and wild, too many of them go unloved, unfed and even hunted. God watches over his angels. He hears their cries, when we cannot. He sees those inflicting pain on the defenseless. He wants better for these beautiful creatures. He did not put them here to suffer. He put them here to teach love to his children. No lives will go in Vain. No pain will go unnoticed. Amen.
Love to all,
From Jessica Lee Smith
For Sammy & Family
