By Dawn Onley

There are people who woke up this morning who won’t make it through this day.

Heck, I could be one of them. So could you.

This is not meant to scare you. It is simply meant to state a fact that can easily be forgotten as we go about our busy lives.

The news is filled with stories of sudden death; people who had no idea they were living in their final moments. The Miami Marlins pitcher, Jose Fernandez, who just died in a boating accident. The woman chilling at Virginia Beach this summer when a fierce wind blew a beach umbrella her way and the pointy end impaled her. Or the man who worked at a gasoline station in Washington, D.C. who happened to be outside just when a man who had stolen a Metro bus came careening through the parking lot, running him over.

And countless more. All random. Not one of these people knew this fate awaited them when they woke up in the morning, showered, got dressed and started their day.

Life deals us some crushing blows sometimes. None of us are protected from its grasp. We will all face sorrow and grief, and maybe even tragedy.

Nothing is certain about this life, except that it will someday end.

Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Sure, that’s a cliché, but it’s so relevant, especially for the times we are living in. Don’t wait to start living. Live for this very moment. It’s truly all we have.

I know of someone who was always putting off traveling until he retired. He would wait until then to see the world. Except “then” never happened. He got sick a few months after retirement and he died less than a year later.

Later is not assured.

Do it today. Whatever it is.