Some people…

… are put on this Earth to shine light into dark corners, to evoke smiles on grim faces, to live for the extraordinary, to remain optimistic when all around them see only doom and gloom…

Unfortunately, I’m very sad to say that I’ve just heard that one of these people has been cruelly snatched away from us. One of my friends.

Can I say that we lived in each other’s pockets…?  No.

Can I claim that I was someone he’d pick to turn to in an emergency…?  No.

Did we drift in and out of touch with each other as life’s buffeting journey pushed us around on our own separate courses…?  Yes.

Which makes it all the more telling that news of his untimely death has saddened me so much.

Some people are naturally – and entirely – nice to know.  Some people can have a heart of steel that they only ever reveal and use for good purposes.  Some people are the kind that you can meet up with once in a blue moon and feel like you only saw yesterday.

These kinds of people are a benchmark for me.  They live their lives well.  Of course, there are times when things get tough and perhaps the occasional crack shows through…  No-one is perfect, after all…  Everyone has an off day.

Looking back, I don’t remember my friend having many of those and I wish I could say the same about me.  I will remember him as having lived a life that was, and still is, worth aspiring to and I will miss him not being there, continuing to set his high standards just by being around…