Celebrate the Living

Today, I saw a little kitten on the side of the highway.

It had died, and of course my heart went immediately to that tiny animal. I love animals so deeply that sometimes seeing something like that can crack me wide open.

But something different happened today.

Instead of letting my mind tumble into everything is horrible, this is so sad, poor baby, I felt this enormous wave of gratitude for the animals that are still here.

That little kitten’s death reminded me to care for the living.

Care for the Living

We have such an enormous responsibility toward the animals sharing this Earth with us.

And I keep coming back to one thing: love.

If we are acting from love, then compassion has to extend beyond the people who look like us, speak like us, live like us—or even belong to the same species as us. Animals feel. They experience fear and comfort. They seek safety. They form bonds. They are living alongside us, not simply existing here for us.

I have become increasingly aware of that responsibility, and increasingly unwilling to look away from it.

We can do better, Earth people.

We can be gentler. We can pay attention. We can care for the creatures already here instead of waiting until something dies to suddenly recognize how precious it was.

Give Them Their Flowers Now

And then I realized this wasn’t only about animals.

How often do we wait until someone is gone to talk about how extraordinary they were?

We gather. We tell stories. We bring flowers. We write beautiful words. We talk about their kindness, their humor, their generosity, their quirks, the way they changed our lives.

Why are we waiting?

Give people their flowers while they can still smell them.

Tell them they’re wonderful while they can still hear you. Celebrate their weirdness. Praise their gifts. Thank them for the tiny ways they make your life better. Love the animals in your house. Call your people. Feed somebody. Sit beside somebody. Tell somebody you are grateful they exist.

Celebrate the living.

Celebrate the living.

Celebrate the living.

Living in Celebration

I’m in such a space of gratitude right now. Life feels like it is unfolding in this strange, beautiful, enigmatic way. There is truth. There is honesty. There is love. There is light.

Celebration can be quiet.

Sometimes celebration is sitting completely still and realizing, I am here.

Sometimes it is silence and gratitude.

Sometimes it is laughing in the car with a friend. Sometimes it is stumbling into a little discount bakery and meeting a woman who seems like a fairy surrounded by cakes. Sometimes it is finding something you thought was lost. Sometimes it is opening your eyes in the morning and realizing you have been handed another entire day.

And sometimes, strangely enough, death reminds us how fiercely we want to participate in life.

I Want to Be the Good Part

I had this thought today that I want to be a good part of people’s experience here.

That’s it.

I don’t need to be the biggest part. I don’t need to be the most important part. I just want to be one of the good parts.

I want someone’s interaction with me to add a little kindness to their day. A little laughter. A little love. A little goodness.

I want to be of service. I want to be kind. I want to be healthy. I want to love well. I want to participate in this beautiful life while I have it.

Because we are here now.

And that alone is worth celebrating.

Clap your hands. Stomp your feet. Sit silently in gratitude. Hug your animal. Call your person. Give the flowers.

Whatever celebration looks like today, do it while we’re here to receive it.