Quandary:Rote Life

*Man shot to death by estranged brother-in-law

*46-year-old grandmother run over and killed by son

*Man found dead in the middle of county road, cause unknown

*Eighteen-month-old child dies following fall from moving vehicle

*Twenty-year-old man struck and killed by train while resting on tracks

*Young father dies at work after being struck by a fallen tree limb

*Father of two shot to death by father-in-law

Likely headlines, all. Definitely tragedies.

These lines preface the stories about individuals who once lived and breathed just as we now do. Relatives, each and every one, whose tragic and sometimes accidental deaths carry no more weight or importance than all of those who died of more natural causes. Natural, I suppose, would be to live to a ripe old age and then to just stop breathing one dark and quiet night. However, with no warning, these lives ended much sooner than seems reasonable.

Regardless of how abrupt or drawn out death may be, it always reawakens our own perception of life. For a time, we resolve to be more aware, to take more time to enjoy, to live up to our dreams and then this perception fades into the realities of making it through this life just one more day.

When do we stop to fully appreciate the gift we've been given? When do we put aside the responsibilities to experience the heady realization of life within every pore of our bodies? When do we achieve that ultimate peace and happiness that simple living brings us?

Knowing that life can be so fleeting, how can we not remain as perceptive as we were when faced with the demise of those who've gone before us?