So my Uncle Chip moved on today. I hate to say "passed on" or "died" or any euphemisms for death. He moved on. Shuffled off from this mortal coil.

 

As they say, he's in a better place. Moved on to the next journey. In no more pain. Close to those who went ahead of him. 

 

Before he moved on, I was alternately angry and sad at the situation. Sad for him and his wonderful family. Angry at the cancer. Angry at what I feel is the purposeful ineptness of the cancer industry. Angry at chemotherapy. 

 

Perhaps it's short-sighted of me to throw blame at the cancer industry, but I truly believe they shut out some treatments that can help cure cancer.

 

And while chemo does has a good success rate with certain types of cancer (like testicular cancer, childhood leukemia and breast cancer) it can also cause great suffering. Adding months or years onto a cancer patients life is great, but at what cost? 

 

But - my anger got me off-topic, and as Yoda or a Buddhist monk might say, anger doesn't get you anywhere.

 

So I fall back to sadness, but not for my uncle. For his wife, his kids and grandkids. For his brothers and sisters who loved him dearly. And of course the rest of his family and friends that will miss him.

 

Chip, or George, or Chip-George as some called him is doing fine. I don't know how I know this, I just do.

 

The big thing I take away from the great life he lived in his short time on this little planet is this:

 

I don't recall ever seeing him sad. He seemed to always be smiling, always had a positive outlook, no matter the situation. Even well after his cancer and therapy. He always had a pleasant greeting and you felt that he was genuinely happy to see you.

 

On reflection of this, I'm *not* that sad. We got to experience Chip and learn from him. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we could all be a little more like him, happy and positive, despite the crap going on around us? Wouldn't it better if we all greeted strangers with a big hearty hello and a smile from ear to ear? 

 

Yes, his life was cut short, shorter than most would like. But because of the disease, we got to see positivity in the face of death. To look death in the eyes and still laugh and love and have fun is truly amazing, and we all got to learn this lesson through Chip.

 

I don't care if you believe in God, or many Gods or no God or even the Flying Spaghetti Monster --- no matter what, I think you can agree there's a lot to be gained from observing the way Chip lived his life.

 

So ... if I could say some final words to him, they'd be this: "Thanks for hanging out with us for a while down here on planet Earth. Keep everyone Chipper, wherever you are, and we'll see you in the next lifetime, my friend."