It has been a few days of reflection for me. It started with the plane crash in Lagos of Thursday and the news that most of the passengers perished. I found myself wondering about those who died. What was or were the last thoughts they had on their minds before their souls floated away? Stories have it that before one dies, the person’s whole life flashes by, in seconds before their eyes. Did they have regrets? Dreams they had dreamt that they never actualized? People they had quarreled with for such a long time that they could not even remember the reason for the quarrel. People they loved that they never quite got to tell how much they were loved on a regular basis? Or perhaps, happiness? That they had achieved so much in a short time? Relief, not to have to deal with the issues pulling at them in certain areas of their lives?

Then the people they left behind….the sheer disbelief when the news first gets to them. They’ve got to be wrong! This can’t be! The race to the phone to call the loved one. The prayers and conscious willing of the phone to ring. The images of the last time they spent with these people. The thoughts of how, perhaps, they could have stopped these loved ones from making the trip? Taking that particular flight? Just kept them beside them for just one moment longer? Inevitably, there would be stories of those who narrowly missed taking the flight. Then there would be the inevitable questions, conscious or subconscious, by the ones who lost people to the crash about why their loved ones just couldn’t have been spared this fatality.

This moment of sober reflection was worsened by the fact that my mum tried to pull a fast one on us. My mum cannot abide the air conditioner in a car and needs to have the windows wound down on all sides so she can feel fresh air on her face. My driver was to pick her up from my sister’s to take her to my house. Unfortunately it was raining. So, my driver, like any other good driver worth his salt, figured that it was okay to break the ‘wind down the windows’ rule. Within a few minutes, my mum was sweating buckets and gasping for breath. My panicked driver drove straight down to my office and I had to leave with them to ‘re-hydrate’ her. The good news is, she’s okay. But, it could have been different. I found myself thinking about all the things I wanted to do for her, that perhaps I hadn’t got around to doing yet. All the times that I may have been too busy to listen to what she had to say….and the list goes on and on.

So guys, love like you have never done before. Seize each moment and make it special. Be sure to tell the people you care about, that you love them and do all you can to stay healthy. We have no idea when it will be ‘time up’ for any of us because a lot of those factors are outside of our control.  But we can certainly do something about the other factors that are within our control. Don’t rob your loved ones of the opportunity to love you or be loved by you.

Here’s to a healthier you!