What Truly Matters in the End

Losing someone you love has a way of bringing everything into focus. It changes how you see your days, how you spend your time, and who you choose to share it with. It’s a reminder that life is fragile, and yet beautifully full of meaning when we truly live it with intention.

Recently, my family experienced a loss that made me pause and reflect on everything around me: my relationships, my priorities, and even how I define “living.” Grief has a way of slowing you down just long enough to make you see clearly. Suddenly, the things that once felt urgent lose their weight, and what’s real love, connection, time becomes everything.

In our culture, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is not just about mourning. It’s about celebrating. It’s about honoring those who came before us and recognizing that love doesn’t end when a heartbeat does. We decorate altars with photos, candles, and marigolds, each petal symbolizing the pathway of remembrance. We cook their favorite foods, share their stories, and play their favorite songs. Because in remembering them, we keep them alive.

It’s one of the most beautiful things about our culture: we find light in what others might see as darkness. We don’t turn away from death; we embrace it as part of life. We understand that to honor those who have passed, we must also honor our own lives while we still can.

This experience reminded me that where our time goes, our energy follows. We only have so many moments to spend with our families, our children, our friends, and ourselves. I’m learning that it’s not just about living longer, but living truer. Being present. Choosing joy. Choosing peace.

We are all going to die in the end, that’s life’s most certain truth, but how we live between now and then is what gives meaning to that truth. We can celebrate our loved ones not only in memory but through the way we live, love, and show up each day.

So as Día de los Muertos arrives, I find myself both grieving and grateful. Grateful for the love that still surrounds me, for the family that remains, and for the memories that connect us all beyond time and space.

Because even in loss, there is legacy. And even in death, there is life.

💀🌼 “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”

How will you honor the ones you’ve lost, not just in memory, but in the way you choose to live today?