We Will See You Tomorrow

Today is National Suicide Prevention Day. It is a day and a cause that is very personal and very important to me, for a variety of reasons. No matter what your reason is for valuing this day, it is so important, and your reasons are important.  Suicide is a problem that needs to be addressed. It is a symptom of a disease. Mental illness and addiction can kill. I have seen first hand the toll that they take on your spirit. I know that I don't have all the answers, and this issue is bigger than any one person. However, if we all stand together, our thousands of voices will make a bigger impact than any one person. We all need to work together to bring about awareness and solutions.  We can all bring awareness to the people we come into contact with. Today is the day that we stand together and say that it is ok to not be ok.  So love you friends a little deeper, and hold your loved ones closer. Let's raise our voices together...

This past week, my grandmother passed away. She hadn't been doing well, and we all knew it was coming. When she was alive, she always told me that she wished that she could see the ocean. She never got to. At first, that broke my heart, but then I realized that by now she has seen every bit of coastline of every ocean in a way that we never will in our time on Earth. Her wish stuck with me for a few days.  I realized, I do not want to get to the end of my life, and have to tell my grandchildren that I wished I could have seen or done something that I hadn't gotten to do. I want to get to the end of my life and tell my grandchildren about that time I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. There will always be naysayers. There will always be reasons...not enough money, not enough time, whatever...but those reasons don't matter. If your spirit aches for something, find a way to do it. If you want to write a book, write a book. If you want to open your own business, do it. If you want to skydive...you are without me on that one, but do it anyways. Find a way to do what makes your soul soar. Go and see your ocean, before one day you wake up and your dream became impossible. Make your soul come alive! 

In his book, If You Feel Too Much, Jamie Tworkowski writes that today is bigger than your yesterday. So I ask you to make it though your today, and bring your friends with you...and we will see you tomorrow. 

Oh and Grandma, thanks for inspiring me with your life and in your death...and I hope that the ocean was better than you ever dreamed it would be.