This morning I woke up to the sound of the urgency in the voices of television news reporters as they updated us about the rocket the Northern Koreans sent off into space, and they warned us to be cautious in case something goes terribly wrong, but there's nothing we can really do, is there? And this afternoon, several hours ago, someone posted a photo on Facebook about the Ring of Fire roaring to life and that there will be earthquakes of historical importance on the west coast of the US and that a "Big One" will hit California any time soon. But I don't want to die. Not yet. So, I just had to get that out of the way. 

There are so many things I haven't seen yet, places I haven't visited, lives I haven't touched and lives that are yet to touch mine, but each life is like an hourglass that we don't see or a clock that's ticking completely out of  our control. We all know that we're going to end up in one place (our bodies at least) (if we're lucky)- in the soil underneath our feet; decaying, (while the worms crawl in and the worms crawl out) yet we constantly take things for granted and act and live each day as if it were nothing. 

It isn't the same for everyone else, but for me, each day is a miracle- a promise, a prayer that I keep tucked safely in between my hands. And it's unimaginable to think of throwing that away anymore. Death is something we are all completely aware of but the impermanence and fragility of our lives is still something we choose to ignore.

I know that my beliefs and my religion are topics I never touch and honestly avoid touching, but if you believe in the afterlife, in a Supreme Being, in a God, like I do, there's also the question of Heaven and Hell. There's the matter of the End of the World or the Second Coming and that the end will come like a thief in the middle of the night. But I don't want to go just yet. 

There are sunsets and stars and moons and oceans I haven't beheld, books I haven't read, people I haven't hugged, touched, kissed; words I haven't uttered, promises I haven't made, things I haven't achieved, lives I haven't lived... People I haven't said "I'm sorry" and "I love you" to yet. I still hope. I still dream. No matter how terrible the world or treacherous our lives may be, I still want to stick around. And I still want all of you to stick around with me.