A delay in scripting this blog post proved beneficial as news of a relative’s passing put me in a completely different frame of mind. When information of my cousin’s death came this past Saturday, the resulting “should’ve – could’ve – would’ve” debate had me contending with myself for hours.

The fact of the matter being; I’d received notice Ms. Marva (Mot) Edwards wasn’t doing well a few weeks before and reasoned on taking the trip to south Florida “as soon as time permits.” Unfortunately, time had no intention of turning me loose long enough to make the five hour drive as life continued to happen. There was an issue encountered with my car, the matter of me being a little under the weather for a couple weeks and circumstances concerning a plumbing issue at the house which was followed by yet another controversy regarding a possible roof leak. In short, life has a way of displaying little sympathy in relation to situations that have a tendency to hinder its on-going process.

There’s an old adage that questions; “Why put off for tomorrow what you can do today?” The King James Bible declares in Proverbs 27:1 “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” which essentially establishes tomorrow’s not promised to anyone. It goes without fail that common practice would have people formulate plans for days, weeks, months or even years in advance when there’s never a guarantee the next moment will be realized.

If a person is occasioned to waste money, thought, opportunity, or most anything else arrangements can made to recover or make it up by working harder, reconsidering or volleying for another chance. Time is the one priceless resource that can never be restored and, once gone, can’t be recaptured. A very wise older gentleman once informed he had no desire to be associated with a person “who don’t own a time piece.” His reasoning confirmed that “if a man wasn’t interested in respecting time that the Good Lord give him in this world, he’d have no respect for somebody else’s either.”

I often encounter those who spend virtually every waking hour griping, bickering, or complaining about someone else. They waste so much time focused on petty and otherwise insignificant issues that life literally passes them by. There is little more disheartening than the realization that vital aspects of one’s life had been unwisely expended at a point when nothing can be done to alter the fact. Simply put, once time is lost it’s just that…lost. The opportunity will never again be extended for me to take the drive to Ft. Lauderdale and visit with Cousin Marva.

My father ended his tenure in this world April 21, 2016 during a time I was traveling extensively. Home-going services were arranged and scheduled in such a manner it allowed little time for me to return. That, however, was a completely different set of circumstances as my dad and I were on solid ground. Granted, differences had at one point driven something of a wedge between us for a period but the issue had been long resolved.

People often waste valuable time procrastinating about things that will inevitably be required one way or the other. Regardless of whether or not they want to deal with them, circumstance has a means of putting unaddressed issues front and center in the lives of those who continue in denial. Refusing to acknowledge and deal with certain concerns simply doesn’t dismiss those issues and they ultimately have to be resolved…in this life or the next.

According to a September 2016 study, LIMRA (Life Insurance and Market Research Association) estimated that some thirty percent of individuals in the U.S. are without life insurance. Understandably, it’s not the usual subject matter about which people typically converse around the office water cooler or desired topic of discussion over diner. But the real question is: Why do so few people have a life insurance policy when it covers an event everyone, at some point, will have to undergo?

The subject of death is a touchy or unnerving subject for a majority of people and the topic is altogether shunned by many. Unfortunately, the lack of desire to deal with the reality often leaves most of us unprepared. People taking the necessary steps during life to prepare for the end ultimately makes the lives of those about whom they care much easier in the wake of them passing on to the next. I could be wrong but it’s just something to consider.