The death of promising young Miami Marlin’s pitcher José Fernández is a wake up call that none of us have any guarantee how long we will be on this earth no matter what age.

Fernández died in a boating accident at 24. The exuberant Cuban-born star had his whole life ahead of him.

His girlfriend was pregnant with their child and ironically Fernández died in the Atlantic Ocean, the same body of water where he saved his mother from drowning while they along with his sister escaped Cuba.

Older people are usually more aware of the ticking clock than young people.

But even age doesn’t give anyone a free pass.

Life is to be lived in the moment 100% present.

It’s not necessary to think about death but how we can take better advantage of the life we now have.   Just ask a cancer survivor. They master the art of living as an unexpected benefit of their disease.

Jimmy Carter is in his nineties and is fighting cancer to gain as much time as he can because he has more things he wants to do.

The past is a file that we visit but always return to the present.

The future is where we look to plan and yet we must come back to the present where all life lives.

The sad ending for Jose Fernandez reminds us that the only thing any of us have for sure is the time we have right now – this instant. That’s where our happiness lives.

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