Because of the hour and because these shooting stars are often visible only on a very small area of our planet, I may have been the only person alive to see it before it faded to darkness. We flash through the universe like shooting stars, so many of which are never seen because no one took the time to look up. We are so small compared to the vastness of the cosmos. We live and die in an instant, a snap of the universal fingers. But in that instant, there is hope.
Life is all too short, but that fact makes every second a precious gift.
As I walked back into the hospital, my eyes were drawn to a tiny plaque, worn with age. I had passed it a dozen times without seeing it, as thousands must have done before. If our time on the planet is to mean anything at all, we must embrace with joy every opportunity to learn. We must cherish every chance to share the joy of others. We must use every occasion to help others to transcend their pain.