Last week, I prompted us all to "Enjoy Life" by stopping and remembering what brings joy and then actually taking the time to do those activities. I am continuing this theme this week, with further thoughts of wisdom from my late sister, Darlene, as I prompt us all to:

Choose "LYFE!"

Darlene wrote many excerpts during her short, yet fruitful life of 15 years. In those writings, she often stated, "Live to Your Fullest Extent," as in her belief, one would never know when life would end. It was as if Dar had premonitions that her life would end while she was still very young. One excerpt described the life of a rose. She explained how we must keep a rose in water for as long as possible to preserve its beauty before it withers and dies. She felt that our lives correlated to that of the rose. She taught that we must water our own beauty and allow our petals to grow and peak, leaving a mark on the world, so that we would be remembered. She wrote on many occasions how important it was to her to be remembered.

Shortly after Dar's death, as I continued to talk to her spirit, I promised her that I would live to my fullest extent, for both of us. I have taken every moment to fulfill this promise. For my latest birthday, I received a gift from my cousin Chris of a wind chime that reads, "Live Life to the Fullest". The gift brought tears to my eyes! The tears were of sadness of still feeling the loss of Dar, but also of joy in knowing that I have kept my promise to her and hopefully have kept her spirit alive. Another family member reinforced my keeping that promise when she said, "And that is exactly what you are doing, Lorri!"

So when recently asked if I would ever consider getting a tattoo, what I would choose, I thought for a while and replied, "Live to Your Fullest Extent."In knowing that that would be a large tattoo, I decided that I would simply use the first letters of each word, "LtYFE".

Later, as I wrote these letters on paper, I smiled soulfully as I realized that by removing the smaller case "t" of "to," LYFE emerged!  

You can imagine how much meaning this holds for me!

I beg you to choose "LYFE!"

Dr Lorri