I keep the picture on the sun visor in my truck.On the driver's side sun visor. On the part of the sun visor that when it is in the up position is always facing me.
I see it every morning when I get in the truck to drive to work or anywhere and every evening when I am driving home. No matter what is planned that day. No matter what happened that day I see the picture.
It is from a newspaper. A front page shot.
It stops me in my tracks every time. It puts everything in context. It brings a lump to my throat and is sobering.
I stare at it and then kind of nod, say a prayer and begin or end the day.
It is a cemetery. It is a young woman…maybe in her 20s..shoes off to the side of a grave, pocketbook to the side of the grave and she is lying on top of the grave,face down, almost hugging the grave. The caption tells the story of a young man , a soldier, who died in the line of duty, who had been engaged to this beautiful young woman planning to get wed.
There she lies, holding the grave, lost in what was, could have been but never will be.
It is the picture that tells a thousand stories. It is a picture that captures it all. It is a picture that should stop us from being petty, small and hurtful. It is a picture that tells us to hug our wife or husband, kiss the kids, hold a friend and live in a state of grace for just being here today with a friend.
The picture. To me it says lighten up, embrace the moment, don't try so hard and kiss your loved ones one more time tonight before you fall to sleep.
The young woman in the picture would tell you how precious that moment is and how fleeting it is.
In the ageless experiment, live the moment fully and embrace the loss fully. And live.