Never Forget

It's stories like this that make me so thankful to be living here in Italy, to be living more in the moment rather than for the future. Financial planning has plagued Americans and likely much of the world for ages upon ages. Funny how I say "plague", like it's a bad thing.  Because obviously financial planning is NOT a bad thing.

It's actually quite good and we all know the key benefit of saving our hard-earned money... so we can use it later, so we don't have to work later.  When we are slower to get out of the car or getting out of bed, when we will someday be slower to answer the holographic image of our grand kids, what we used to know as a phone call,  projected from the ring of special bulbs coming out the center of our coffee table, the thing that will someday also be our holographic television set. All of that will be really nice when we are much older, as long as we have the money saved.  This is true.

Time for the reality check.

What if you die sooner?

A scary thought. An enlightening thought as well.  What if you worked so hard for so many years, saving all that money, never doing the things you wanted so you could do them in your retirement... but then fate catches up sooner than expected.  What are you going to think during that millisecond of time when your entire life flashes before your eyes, if it even does that? Have any regrets?

A very close friend of mine recently told me about a story. He was the best man for his friend's wedding a couple weeks ago. Everything was spectacular about the occasion, the couple couldn't be happier. After the special day, they headed to New Zealand for a truly fantastic honeymoon. Four days later, they got in a terrible car crash, killing the husband and sending the wife into a coma from which she still has not risen. Simply awful.

It's stories like that that make me thankful for everything I have.  That I have lived this long. That I have experienced so much that life has to offer. And that I'm not wasting the opportunities that are presented to my wife and I. It reminds us that life is short and no matter what, we should live it to its fullest, especially without regret.

My personal experience may not picture me as the poster-child for financial security, but I certainly can represent the other side who chose a riskier path. I'm not saying it's a better path, just riskier.  All I'm saying is the rewards are there, and they are quite different.

My friend told me words from the vigil about the newlyweds, that even though this tragedy came to them, at least this was the happiest time of their lives. Right now, I have two very close friends on their honeymoon in Aruba and I wish them nothing but the best during their celebration, and to be safe as possible. If you have friends or family traveling or just doing normal day-to-day things, don't forget to mention how much they mean to you. Don't forget to say you love someone even if it feels awkward. If you fight with your loved one, always end it making sure they know you love them. It's a morbid thought, but you never know when your time is up.  We can thank Kirsten and Kenneth for reminding us how important that is.  Religious or not, prayers and thoughts go to both of them.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2206198/Newlywed-husband-killed-wife-critical-condition-honeymoon-crash-horror-New-Zealand.html