Thrive with Purpose

It was Wednesday, at 9:13 in the morning, when I received a call from my friend’s daughter.  From the other end of the line she said, “Tito… Dada is gone…”.

Those were the only words I remembered from that call.  After she said it, I was stunned, and my mind went blank. When my mind restarted, memories started to flood my thoughts.  I recalled all the good times we had together, and there were so many.  And I also remembered that time when he was there to help me during a most difficult time in my life.

My friend was gone in his mid-fifties.  He would have been facing new paths in his life and there was so much ahead of him. I wondered whether he was able to live his life to the fullest.  For one also in his mid-fifties, I thought back on what “living life to the fullest” really meant.  How do you define a full life? Must one live long to live his purpose? 

I thought of my friend and how he lived his life.  He was the truest friend one can ever find.  He was always there to help and be with you when you needed him.  He shared happy moments with you. When I was going through rough times, he did not mind spending so much time with me, helping me find a solution or simply just being there to listen. He celebrated milestones in my life, from the baptism of my sons to their wedding day.  As a family man, he worked himself hard to provide the best that he could for his family and loved ones.  Often, I heard him talk of how else he can make life happier for his wife and daughter, and what life experiences he can still share with them.  He truly loved them and made every effort to show it.

After much reflection, I realized that a full life is something we define for ourselves and not anyone else.  And it does not matter if our time on earth is long or short.  We live our life’s purpose every chance we get, every day we live. 

These reflections remind me of an article about achieving goals.  It talked about how most of the time we can get hung up on achieving goals that we tend to forget about living.  It said that the goal is merely a result.  What is important is what we do every day, being mindfully focused on doing “chores” (the article calls it “habits”) that lead to the goal.

So yes, my friend did live a full life.  He lived his life’s purpose.  He lived his life according who he wanted to be for his family, for his friends and for himself.  And while I will surely miss him, I am happy and grateful for having had him in my life as one true friend.