PATRICK SWAYZE

Lately I've been seeing a lot of stories both in print and on the tube about amazing people, living amazing lives and overcoming unbelievable obstacles. R.I.P. Patrick Swayze. Here's a man with cancer so bad, that he would (in his words) lay on the bathroom floor at night for hours in excruciating pain, cursing the cancer eating him up, but he still got dressed each morning and went to the studio to tape his TV show. He refused to give up. He refused to give in. He just kept on going.

This kind of determination is something I wish I possessed. I don't think I'd have that kind of strength. I want to believe I do though. I want to believe that faced with insurmountable odds I would push forward and strive to triumph. Don't we all wish we had this kind of enduring spirit?

I will remember Patrick whenever I am tempted to lay in bed for another hour, or not tackle a simple re-write, or don't want to climb onto the treadmill for an hour. I have no excuse. I am healthy, strong and vital. I won't waste this precious life I've been given.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years...Abraham Lincoln