Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking. - Anne Roiphe
Both of them require strength, Anne.
Two young professional surfers died in two consecutive days. The Brazilian Jean da Silva passed away last Friday, and the Mexican Oscar Moncada followed him yesterday. The surprising fact: both extreme sportsmen didn't die in a surf accident.
It's not exclusively due to the fact that I'm a surfer by myself that these kind of stories really touch me. The two young athletes where even younger than me and definitely too young to die. They were great personalities, full of positive energy and a real win for all the people that surrounded them.
Tragedies like these always remind me of a friend of mine who passed away too early, too.
After a certain time, pain and consternation may raise consciousness about the inestimable value of being alive.
©️ Chachi: Oscar Moncada getting barreled
Too young to die!
One of my friends from school died at an age of 21.
It felt so completely unreal and totally wrong.
She passed away in a car accident. According to the reports she was driving too fast and her car left the road accidentally. She died on her way to the hospital.
During school we spent a lot of time together since we were direct neighbours in a very small village. That is decades ago but I remember it as if it was yesterday. Also whenever I eat pancakes I think about her, since her mom baked the very best ones in the world for us. She wrapped them in aluminium foil and stored them in the fridge. So whenever we came home after playing tennis or riding the bycicle, we enjoyed some of these fluffy and fresh pancake rolls.
How many stories she could have lived, how many experiences she could have made, how much she could have loved and been loved?
These young rebels should have had much more time.
We need to reduce pace!
According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day.
3,287 people per day. That's a terribly high number!
Especially when famous drivers are involved, a wave of consternation swaps all over the world, and we start to realize once more how dangerous our streets actually are. I remember very well that I was shocked for days when I heard about Paul Walker passing away in a car crash in November 2013.
If these cruel tragedies had one message, then it would probably be this one: we need to slow down!
Oscar Moncada cried for his friend and then followed him.
According to the news, Jean da Silva died voluntarily attempting suicide.
Since Friday, there's been a lot of condolence in the social networks. Surfers from all over the world were expressing their deep sympathy for Jean.
Oscar Moncada was one of them.
He was a beloved member of the big-wave surf community. Now he passed away in a car crash only one day after Jean's dead.
The most tragical part of the story: Before the crash, Oscar posted a tribute to Jean on his own Instagram account:
Rest in peace, my friend, #RIP. Even as a person as good as Jean da Silva can leave us of this world [sic] Today I wake up with this sad news…I will miss you, brother, today I cry for you.
Oscar Moncada saying goodbye to his friend Jean da Silva
I have few words left. Just these: embrace life! Now.
We often spread buzzwords like 'carpe diem' but don't really understand their meaning.
Still everybody who has lost a person at an early age does understand it. There is probably nothing more valuable than being alive.
Since life and living has become our daily routine we sometimes forget that all this is a great gift which can be taken away from us at any time.
Embrace life and take care of your beloved ones, steemians! We'll never know how much time they and we've got left.
Marly -
Thanks for your valuable time!
This blog was launched at the end of July 2016
aiming to provide stories for open-minded
people who enjoy living on the edge of their lives,
stepping out of comfort zones, going on adventure,
doing extreme sports and embracing the new.
Welcome to the too-much-energy-blog!
Enjoy life, you never know how much you've got left.
Original content. Quotes found both on quotefancy.com (1) and (2).