Loss tells us to enjoy the here and now

THEY say that there are only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes.

Well, most of us, although law abiding people, spend much of our time trying to see how we can avoid paying tax.

However, death is unavoidable and will come to us all eventually.

I seem to be attending funerals at the rate of one a week at the moment. Some deaths were not entirely unexpected; the person concerned might have been suffering from long-standing health conditions, and their family and loved ones had experienced first-hand their painful decline and eventual demise.

What is shocking though are those sudden and unexpected deaths; here today gone tomorrow. It is as if they have just popped out to do a bit of shopping and disappeared off the face of the earth; nothing can prepare us for such an eventuality.

On a personal level, I have always gone by the maxim ‘live each day as if it is your last’.

The recent loss of several friends, including one with whom I had enjoyed a long weekend in France just days ago, has given me pause for thought, and made me more determined than ever to enjoy the here and now. None of us know when or where we might breathe our last breath, and I want to squeeze out every last gasp.

Although the pandemic has made us all much more aware of the importance of regular contact with loved ones, I am going to make a more conscious effort to ensure that at the last point of contact with friends and family they know that I love them and value them. Just in case.

Linda Piggott-Vijeh, Combe St Nicholas, Somerset