A Day To Celebrate Life

For much of the year Vancouver is often overcast and rainy, as even in this summer, it has continued to be rainy. But yesterday (6/29/13) the sun shined in all of its magnificence, the flowers seemed suddenly to have bloomed in every color of the rainbow, the birds sang and people came out to celebrate the day.

The city was filled with joyous people whether in Stanley Park or along the ocean front, on the sea wall abutting the harbor or in swimming pools, on the sidewalks, bike paths, shops or in any direction one looked. The temperature was about 80 degrees (24 degrees Celsius) and people wanted to share in the warmth that called to them.

It was a day to celebrate life.

But here is a secret I would like to share with you dear reader: Every day is a day to celebrate life. Yet how can that be for someone who is sick and dying, or who just lost a loved one or is caught up in a divorce, a bankruptcy, a job loss or some other painful occurrence?

The answer lies among other places, at The City of Hope in Duarte, California. The City of Hope is one of the world's foremost cancer hospitals and people die there all the time, many of them with family there to grieve them.

But surrounding the facilities are some of the most glorious rose gardens and other gardens in bloom that you can imagine. Why? To help people find a moment of joy and to celebrate life under even the most difficult of circumstances. My dad died of cancer there, and it was in The City of Hope he most wanted to be, when he could no longer be in his home.

So in your heart, let each day bring you a little sunshine and roses in bloom. For life is a precious gift and it beckons to us to be celebrated regardless of circumstances.

Dick