Inspire Aspire - Live Life to the Full!

Sometimes it takes unfortunate events to remind us of how precious life is, and how it can be taken away in a snap, without warning, logic, or a single valid explanation. And in a twisted twist of fate, such a terrible event can bring back the edge and lustre to your own life and rekindle that lust for life which you might have lost into the daily nags, challenges and worries, while slamming the latter back into perspective. This is exactly what happened to me four weeks ago...

'Surfer Girl on the Beach with Her Dog', by Ryan Cardone Photography

That's when Olivier, one of my brother's good friends, suddenly died. He was 29. His sudden disappearance sent shockwaves down the local community. Olivier had arrived from mainland France in August 2012 and settled into the local resort fairly quickly. He was a popular character, smart, friendly, pleasant, a picture of health, trendy, good-looking, quick-thinking and a success story in the making. He met Marion, a lovely girl from mainland France who had been working in the resort since the start of the Summer season and it was love at first sight. They moved in together in a studio flat by the beach, a dream-come-true lifestyle. My brother formed a great friendship with Olivier and everything was cool!

Then tragedy struck out of the blue, on that doomed Sunday evening. While he was out and about, Olivier suddenly complained of a violent headache and rang his parents to ask them to take him to hospital. His parents turned up but thought his headache might be stress-related as he was starting a new job the next day... Yet everyone quickly realised all wasn't what it seemed and emergency services were called. By the time they arrived, Olivier had collapsed from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He was healthy, sporty, and the last person you would have predicted to go so soon, so quick, so young. Olivier's death left us in a state of disbelief and crush.

(Pict source)

A few days later, I came across that bit of text online and it spoke directly to me. It should also speak to those engrossed in the nitty-gritty of life, who complain about their existence, job, folks, home, cash crisis, identity crisis, mental state, country leaders, who knows! Stop all that whingeing right now and start living life to the full! Quit that job that takes your liveliness away, quit that partner who doesn't love you back, quit that place that drains the va-va-voom out of you! Quit the negatives so you may focus on the positives. Life is way too short to allow for moans, complaints, bickering and regrets. Get that lust for life back and move on with it! See you on the other side, dudes!