Sometimes the REAL world can hurt - I mean REALLY hurt. This morning early, I took a neighborhood friend to the airport. He was flying to Philly to officiate at a funeral - a funeral for a wife, a mother, a daughter, a beloved child of God who had leukemia and died at age 41 . She had just flown to visit her ailing mother. Two days later she was dead. 

Two days ago, I spoke to a friend whose brother committed suicide last month. He’s owning his brother’s death, and shoulders part of the blame. It was a tenuous relationship and he admittedly tuned his brother out. Now he’s questioning what role he could have had in saving his brother’s life. In our call, he told me life sucks.

Last weekend, we received an urgent call from another friend requesting prayers for her eight-year old-niece, Claire Atkins. Claire had fallen from a tree and broken her arm. In the hospital, an unrelated brain problem was found. She died early Sunday morning. I don’t know how I could react like her father did in the Asheville Citizen article about her. The family has already turned their tragedy into something good (watch the clip dancer honored on ABC 13). When the family returned home after their childs death, friends, neighbors, and church members had a meal prepared, their beds turned down, notes written and left on each of their beds. They had also filled the tree where Claire had been playing with hundreds of notes and cards. This family and their friends are a reminder of the importance of RICH relationships and of the power of a rich life.

None of these things make sense. I’ll never understand tragedy, senseless death, suicide or loss of young lives. Sometimes words are difficult but you can also reach out and touch - a gentle hand, a loving embrace, a heart felt note and a shared tear may be all that is needed.

Today is the day to treasure each and every day, your children, and the people who are most important to you. That’s Real World. That’s RICH.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund and co-founder of the Jeffrey Roth Cycling Foundation. Click here for more information on professional speaker Tim Richardson.