“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.”
Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky

More than 10 years ago now, a beautiful and special friend of mine left this world far too early. I came across this passage around that time and while somewhat sobering, it serves as a reminder to grab life and squeeze everything out of it that you can.

Sometimes, I reckon a hard kick up the backside is more useful than a hug.