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You’ve heard these recommendations before

Another Memorial Day has passed.

Many visited cemeteries in the days approaching the holiday to tend to graves of family or friends.

A few months ago, cemeteries were beautiful yet lonely places. Now they’ve sprung to life with flowers of all sorts.

A member of the clergy once said that after a death, all of the firsts are hard.

The first Thanksgiving, the first birthday, the first anniversary, and so on.

And the first Memorial Day too.

If the departed was buried, entombed, or inurned, maybe the monument is in place.

Or maybe that will wait for another time.

Either way, the departed has passed from this life, and family and friends are hurting on the first Memorial Day.

What’s particularly sad is when the departed took actions that, however unintentionally, shortened their lives.

The hard truth is that as much as we’d like to bring back those who have made such mistakes and give them another chance, that’s just not how it works.

Others have another chance not to be visited next Memorial Day.

The others are most of us.

We have another chance.

You’ve heard all of these before.

¯ Eat well. No one is perfect. At the same time, those who continually and heavily partake of not-the-best foods can’t reasonably expect to live to be old.

¯ Take your vitamins. They’re called supplements for a reason. They supplement good nutrition.

¯ Don’t consume unreasonable amounts of adult beverages. No one needs the extra drink.

¯ Don’t start smoking. If you’ve already started, stop. Today. Not tomorrow. Today. You’ll be stunned at how much better you feel in short order.

¯ If you can – and most people can – get rid of those extra pounds. Your lower back, your knees, and your ankles, not to mention your cardiovascular system, weren’t built to function well with that extra weight.

¯ Exercise. You don’t have to train for a marathon. But you do need to elevate your heart rate at a sustained, reasonable level multiple times each week. You may think you don’t have time to exercise. But exercise extends your life, so you don’t have time not to exercise.

¯ Different kinds of health professionals can help with different things. Listen to them. Engage them in conversation. Take their advice.

¯ Don’t endanger your life foolishly.

¯ If you’ve made mistakes with drugs, you’re not alone. Lots of people have. Forgive yourself. God will. You can too. And starting now, never use illegal drugs, and never abuse prescription drugs. If you need help, get it. Lots of people stand ready to help. Ask for help today. Not tomorrow. Today.

¯ Don’t think you’re exempt from problems that drugs can cause just because you don’t fit into one, some, or all of the categories of people that you or others think are most susceptible to such problems. As one funeral director said not long ago, “We’ve pulled people out of some pretty nice houses.”

¯ And perhaps most importantly: If the thought of taking your own life even crosses your mind, ask for help now. Not later today. Not tomorrow. Now. Lots of people stand ready to help. Ask for help now.

Many of who have attempted suicide but didn’t die convey that immediately after taking the action that would have ended their lives, they regretted the action.

You have another chance.

If you think nobody cares, please know that many people do.

And they’d like to visit you next Memorial Day. But not at a cemetery.

¯ Share this column with someone who needs it.

One of Randy Elf’s best friends took his own life.

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