Count Your Blessings

The serendipitous nature of my life has been pointed out to me most poignantly recently by the terminal illness of my cousin Joanne, who is 49 and in the last stages of brain cancer. I have sauntered through life, mostly unscathed with a few exceptions (which most of you folks all know about). My life has truly been charmed in so many ways with wonderful loving people, a love of nature and art, an ability to travel extensively and learn about the world and so many other things. Joanne’s life hasn’t been so easy. She’s had some hard knocks and reversals. Why am I lucky in this respect and she isn’t? Is it luck of birth or fate? I don’t know. All I know is that she is suffering and I am traipsing around Europe with a man I love and who loves me back with passion. The juxtaposition between our lives saddens me and makes me realize how good my life is, how very precious it is.

Count your blessings. Love your family and friends well. That’s what life is all about.