here's to lives well lived

When we started this 5 years ago, our aim was to start something that could give ongoing support to something or someone that needed it. We didn't want to just give a one off donation, which would be useful, but to really give of ourselves to a cause we felt strongly about. So, we put in hours and effort and now it is what it is. We get busy and the time between sales stretches, but we always come back to it because it's something that matters to us dearly. Supporting research to cure and treat cancer means a lot to many people, because cancer is weighty. It's not just a disease, but there's a fear that goes along with it and a battle ahead, and hopefully a victory.

Death is often talked about in numbers and, to explain the extent of the damage that cancer has on a population, this is possibly the most effective way of discussing it. Plus, it's easier to say 5 deaths than a life is gone and a life is gone and a life is gone and a life is gone and a life is gone. But for those of us who have loved someone who now isn't there and isn't coming back or for those who are in the midst of loving someone who just might not make it, a statistic is cold and empty.

And when the fragility of life is thick all around, it makes us question what we're doing with the lives we've still got. That person doesn't have theirs anymore, but we still do, and possibly we'd do anything to trade ours for theirs, but then they'd be in the same position as we are now. So, all we can do is live our lives well while we have them, possibly in honour of that person, or for something greater, or out of a sense of duty. We do have one life, truly, and the ability to effect others for the better. So, here's to lives well lived. Here's to loving and serving people unconditionally, not just because they love us too or because they're healthy and fun and exciting. Here's to not just living for ourselves. Our hearts don't break when someone dies just because they're gone, but because they shared their lives with us when they had one.

My many words are just to explain something of my heart for what we do. The thoughts arose after hearing the news from Hannah that Cameron's Aunt Bernie died from T-cell lymphoma this morning, peacefully and without pain. She had 54 years of life and now no more. She was very brave throughout her time of illness, and now she's at rest. This next sale is dedicated to Bernie and the life she lived.