“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

 

Everything that has a beginning comes to an end. The credits roll on all of our favorite movies and our favorite books have a finite amount of pages. Our lives are full of beginnings and endings, marked by graduations, hirings, firings, births, deaths, and everything in between. Our journey to Nepal and Tibet had to come to an end. This photo essay had to come to an end. We, eventually, will come to an end. 

 

If I had to explain how cancer has impacted me the most, I would point to one revelation. As a ten year old, I faced a real possibility that I would never get to grow up. Death was no longer an abstract concept. Death comes into the hospital room with you to hang out. You understand that - at some point or another - this thing could kill you. But, in reality, we are faced with that in everyday life. Walking down the street, we never know how close we are to getting hit by a distracted driver. Our life is hanging by a thread, and at any moment that thread could snap. My revelation was, what a wonderful thing that is! 

 

If we lived forever, our days would have no meaning. But it is precisely because we do not know when we will have our last day, that makes our time so valuable.  Tell that person you love them, experience life, hold nothing back and live life with joy, compassion, and humor. We owe that to ourselves.

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this and look at my photos. I hope some aspect of this photo essay resonated with you. I love you all, and remember, it’s a great day to be alive. 

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Jake DeHaai