In my opinion if you are not doing something you love then you shouldn’t be doing it!  You know the old cliché “Life’s too short” well, can you argue with it?  I know I can’t. 

This line has always resonated with me, however never so much so as it had recently when I lost a dear Uncle suddenly in March to a heart attack at the young age of 54.  This was a devastating blow to our family, a shock that we still have not yet recovered from and quite honestly disbelief still enters our thoughts on the daily basis.

My Uncle was a wonderfully, funny individual having a sense of humour that was infectious.  He was in the insurance/ financial sector by trade but he had such a passion for the art of cuisine.  He loved cooking and in my eyes was already a chef.  I was lucky enough to have spent a few days with him a couple of weeks before he passed and we had some great talks.   At that time he had just left the financial sector and was debating on going back to it or possibly following his passion of cooking.    He liked his job; liked working in the financial district, but what presented itself was the opportunity of working at something he loved not just liked.  He dreamed of owning his own catering business, for once living his passion.  He would show me recipes upon recipes of wonderful dishes he would prepare, adding his own little slant to each of them.   

I watched his excitement as he spoke about the possibilities. His eyes lighting up each time he spoke about cooking, the menu, the dishes, etc.  I remember saying to him “that sounds great, when will you be starting?”  No sooner had I spoken those words his facial expression change, the excitement ended, the light went to dark and you could see the fear creeping in, slowly dashing that dream.  

The response being typical of anyone hesitant in walking down an unknown path, “Oh well, I’m just thinking out loud here”, “I think it’s a little too risky, what if it fails?” 

“Yes,” I said, “but what if it doesn’t? 

He didn’t respond, he shrugged and simply changed the subject.  I left him with this question, a question that would never be answered.  In my heart I knew he could make this work.  I knew this because he would love doing it and if you love doing something, you do it exceptionally well. 

When I heard the news of my Uncles passing, I kept replaying this conversation in my head.  That old cliché “Life’s too short” hit a little too close to home.   I imagined how happy he would have been if he had followed his passion years ago.  I wondered -if he knew that his life was going to be cut so short, would he have hesitated in the slightest in making this dream a reality.  

I like to think the answer would be no.   I thank the universe everyday that I wake up each morning loving what I’m doing, never thinking about the things I could have been doing instead.

My Uncle taught me a lot of valuable life lessons, but the most important one, is one I’ll never have the opportunity to share with him.

Live your dreams, live your passions, love what you are doing, you only have one shot at it!  Life really is too short!