A chance encounter brought me a new friend. Only moments later we are laughing with each other as old friends do, sharing a special moment. I’ve known her for five minutes and a thousand years.
I didn’t ask why she has a dressing over her right eye or is it her left? It doesn’t matter – I barely notice. What I see in my new-found old friendship is a force of strength. Positive, exciting, adventurous. Above all, a love for life that is taken with a fierce need to experience all there is…before time takes away her choice. Shouldn’t we all live with such bravery? We too will walk this path in time.
Through her energy, I am reminded to slow my life down. I am reminded of what is important. Do I always do that? Not a chance. I am caught up in being human. At times I take what I have for granted. I work too much, I judge others, I worry about things that aren’t worrying things. That’s when luck happens to walk by me and I receive a teaching moment. I am fully aware our lives are different by circumstance alone. It’s not lost on me that perhaps her worries overshadow mine. Someone has joined me on my journey to teach. Lessons learned. To fight with grace, honesty, bravery, humour, and love.
Her stories of hiking, skiing, travel, and love; always told with a smile and an energy that I dig for often. Never does she complain of the struggle she must endure daily.
She has shared her journey with us through her book “A Fuller Life”. It is the story of a loving spirited woman whose battle comes with a smile and much love. I am grateful to call her my friend.