Why so Happy?

Happy Memorial Day!

Sounds a little funny, being happy about people dying. But we are glad, happy--blessed--for our freedom in this country.

Freedom is not cheap. But thanks to the men and women willing to serve, we still have it. And a special thanks to the thousands who gave their lives defending ours.

Too often, though, we take our freedom and our lives for granted. Sometimes we get caught up in the 'terrible dailiness' and forget what a marvel it is to be alive. To enjoy each other's company. To create something. To breathe.

In the movie "Awakenings", a patient named Leonard had brain swelling as a child, that left him in a disconnected, coma-like state. The Doctor tried an experimental treatment that helped Leonard wake up. Leonard was experiencing life again consciously for the first time in 40 years. But the treatment quit working, and he started slipping back into his catatonic coma-state.

Leonard knew his time was short. But rather than focus on himself, he focused on us and asked his doctor to pass this message along:

Remind them how good it is.

People have forgotten what life is all about...what it is to be alive...

They need to be reminded of what they have and what they can lose...

What I feel is the gift of life, the joy of life, the freedom of life, the wonderment of life...

So, today, remember Life. Those that were given, and the one you still have left to live.

Live it like you mean it,

Dr. Vince