Life is too short to take for granted.

[Salted_Chipmunk]

So here I am, pondering my own mortality and how others take it for granted.

In the space of one year, two of my closest friends have suffered a stroke. For different reasons. One suffered from capillaries in his brain fusing together to make a rather large vein, which in turn brough on the stroke. He has since made a speedy recovery from it.

The other, had a minor stroke a few days ago from a weak valve in his heart. he was in hospital and was due for surgery next week, however the clotting around his valve was dislodged and he suffered an anneurism/embolism (sp?) as a complication, sadly there was nothing tht the doctors could do and he passed away early yesterday morning. He was only 23 years old.

He had everything to live for, had a loving girlfriend, loving friends, a great job. He didn't smoke or take drugs, had the occasional drink with the boys. he was one of the nicest people that you would ever meet, had the best one liners that could come out of nowehere and make you laugh your arse off when you didnt think it was possible.

But alas, all of this has now been taken, but you will forever live on in our collective memory. You would be glad to know that we had a teary drinking session reminiscing of all the great times that we have had with you, and boy were they great times. Me and my friends were all proud to call you a friend and we wish you all the best in what is to come for you,

God speed Mike. We all love you, we'll see you soon buddy.

RIP Mike Goulter, 1981-2005

[dwarfthrower]

Sorry to hear about your friend mate. It's never a good thing to lose somebody so young, but it looks like you can take heart from the fact that he lived it to the full and put more into the world than he took out.

[Salted_Chipmunk]

This is true, i guess what makes it a little easier is that nobody could speak a bad word about him, so every memory that we have of him is a good one.

[kleph]

kind of went through the same thing a few years back when a good friend of mine passed. he did drink, smoke, have sex with everyone he could and it all came back and got him at the age of 33. but what hurt most was knowing a person that was so alive simply wasnt there anymore.

i went vagabonding for a while and even made it down under. but i decided to take another chance working for the clampdown. needless to say, when i found myself staring out the window watching the glorious sunset at my shit job i simply decided to take the next step sideways.

so my life aint perfect, i am still busting my ass to achieve the things i want to do and i have struggled through some really brutal setbacks. but i am doing it in peru on my own terms and in my own way.

its the kind of thing i never had the courage to do before but between the "fuck it" i got from joels death and the responsibilty i now have to do some of the things he wanted to but never could i found a way to make it happen.

oddly, i had one of my moments of complete clarity about my mortality today. it is never a very pleasant experience but tends to leave me oddly tranquil afterward. one big reason is because i have had some success changing my life to the one i want to lead.

but another huge reason is because by still being around, i am keeping quite a few amazing people - like joel - still in the world through my memories and the courage they gave me. because we honor our friends and family who are no longer with us as much by our actions as by our words about them.

[gunsella]

rip

[beowulf437]

Having lost more than a few friends and relatives myself I can tell you that you will never stop missing them, and that's ok. You will be doing something and you will remember something they said or did and it will make you smile or cry and they will live on through you.

[Salted_Chipmunk]

I'm not a stranger to death, i have had a few other friends die at earlier ages and certainly have lost a few family members.

I've learnt to accept the fact that sometimes this just does happen, and when it does you really can't change what has happened at all. All you need to do is to remember those lost, as long as there is a memory of them still alive, its just as good as them being next to you.