During the past month, the Roodepoort community was rocked by the untimely death of Laurette Hartmann (the owner of Koek ‘n Loer home industry) and George Wilhelm, a JMPD officer and wrestler Xterminator.
Both were well-known and well-loved and the messages of condolences poured in on various social media platforms. A common thread in these posts was that Laurette and George seemed in good health, and many people said that they saw them or spoke to them the day before. Many comments also mentioned that they wished they knew it would be the last time they saw Laurette or George.
I could not help but think about death and how it does not ask permission before it strikes. Yes, death is inevitable for all of us, but we do not always have the luxury of having that opportunity to say goodbye to a loved one or to know exactly what happened to help us make peace with it.
There is a saying, “Don’t ever save something for a special occasion – being alive is the special occasion” and it found such resonance within me. Let us start living as if every day is our last. We must stop sweating the petty stuff, holding on to that 20-year-old grudge or fighting about unimportant things.
Life is too short, and tomorrow is not guaranteed, make sure your loved ones know how you feel about them. Don’t wait for tomorrow; pick up the phone and tell them how much you love and cherish them today. Make time to visit and spend quality time with them, because tomorrow might be too late. Don’t spend the rest of your life with regrets.
Until next week, stay safe and look out for each other …
