Life Lessons

Last week, I went to the funeral of a 49-year-old man named Jon.  He waged a valiant fight against lung cancer for 14 months.  (By the way, he never smoked.)  When he was diagnosed, he was already in Stage 4 of the disease.  But, he was determined to fight it and to beat it, for the sake of his three children and his wife.  
 
There are so many lessons to be learned from Jon.  For one thing, he never complained.  He went through brutal rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and yet, there was no self-pity.  When I think of how many times A DAY I complain and yes, feel sorry for myself, it's downright embarassing. 
 
Jon never gave up hope.  He was an eternal optimist.  The last time I saw him, which was about three weeks before he died, he looked emaciated and needed help to go up a flight of stairs.  The last thing he said to me was, "I'm going to beat this."   And, I believe he thought he would.  How many times do all of us "throw in the towel" when faced with the slightest challenge?  How many plans have we abandoned because we hit a bump in the road?
 
Jon lived life to the fullest.  To hear his friends and family speak at his funeral, one got the picture of a man whose energy knew no bounds.  He traveled, he was innovative in his profession, he made sure to get to all of his kids' ball games.  He always lived as if he were on borrowed time, and unbeknownst to him, he was.  Perhaps the most important lesson to learn from Jon is that life is too short, so make the most of it.