outfit post: Momento Mori

"Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did."
                           - Mark Twain

  

Friends: life IS short. And fragile and dumb-foundedly precious. Sometimes it takes a blunt reminder from death to remember to cherish the living. Recently, friends in the bloggersphere have lost loved ones- dear Judith lost her Nelsen, Vahni, her favorite uncle and sweet Leia, her beloved father. While I haven't meet these friends in person, their loss affects me- I know what it is like to lose someone, to survive loved ones. And it ain't easy. I do know no matter how experienced you become in the the heart-wrenching loss of a good friend, a cherished family member, a lover, you never become an expert at it. The sharp cut, the deep ache is NEVER mastered. 

I lost a high school crush to a car accident fresh into college- which was a million years ago when saber-tooth tigers sun-bathed and laid-out by the pool, not swam in boggy tar pits. I've endured a fistful of loss from family members, and friends who were my family. I've held the hand and looked into the lonely gaze of a loved one I planned growing old with, cruelly unable to offer comfort for the final finish. The hardest hit for me was the death of my high school Bestie, who, into our friendship's 10th year, made other plans. She was born 13 days after me, and died 14 days before my birthday. I still feel the empty void of her absence- 

That said,  it is this rosary of loved ones that gives my life focus. I am SO grateful I had them while I did, and loved them like I do. So many of them are such an integral part of me, I know I wouldn't be breathing without them. I've stolen their laughs, borrowed their phrases and keep their memories. There is nothing so clarifying to one's perspective & priorities as the brutal kicked-to-the-teeth loss of someone you love. Bullshit gets pushed aside, and the body can't help but make living a top priority. 

LIVING is the sweet spot.

If you are breathing and reading this, trust me: you've won the lottery. I don't care how harsh your childhood was, what bad breaks you've endured- the fact of YOU ticking is the greatest gift. Life is the ultimate gift horse, so no looksies in the mouthy.  Just say Thank-YOU. 

Momento Mori: Bella celebrates life in a skull-printed corseted top.

Now Wearing: 

• Mint green Sunnies, Target
• Army jacket, freebie
• Lulu, Skull print corset top, Prevues (first worn here.)
• Cut-off shorts, freebie
• Black skimmers, super old from Anthropologie

Calavera de la Catrina, Jose Guadalupe Posada