because we can.

i found out today that a man i used to work with died on saturday.  he had a heart attack.  as i was celebrating my 39th birthday with my friends, his family was in the early parts of the worst of it.

i wasn't particularly close with this man so... it's not like that.  but still, it's sad, and shocking.  because he was only my age-ish.  and he was a really nice guy.  and he had kids.  and it's not fair when it happens before someone has a chance to get old and wrinkly.

it's brutal, isn't it?  the way none of us knows who's going to be next... the way, sometimes, you don't get to say goodbye... the way you're supposed to keep going without someone you love.

... and the best you can do is just to live life to the fullest... to be as true and as honest as you can be... to encourage others to do the same... it hardly feels like enough, does it?  like we should be doing more... like having a party just to celebrate the fact that we're all lucky enough to still be here... like writing long letters to the ones we love, enumerating all the reasons why they're so awesome and special... like taking more time to help each other out.

i don't know where i'm going with this.

i guess, i just needed to share, and to say:
let's really try to do our very best to make the most of this life, ok?
let's help each other out, and be kind.
let's tell each other what we admire in each other, and help ourselves out with the harder parts.
let's lift each other up.
let's cut the bullshit and the games, and get straight to the heart of the matter.
let's go for gold, and make this count.
and let's do it now.
because we can.