It was early last Friday morning. I had finished some of my chores and had a taken a cup of coffee to Julie. “Shane Warne died” she said.

“What! No way. Are you sure?”

“This post says he died in Thailand”.

“They must have made a mistake. He was only in his early 50’s.”

Shane was one of the best bowlers in the world of cricket and one of the most likeable. He had an air about him that you didn’t know what he was going to do next. He was a larrikin and a great family man.

He will be greatly missed.

And this is a problem with life … you don’t know when your time is up, or your partner’s, a family member or a friend’s.

Listening to Shane’s family and friends talk about him and what they would have said and done if they had have known he was on borrowed time. They now hold much regret.

There’s a big message here.

Get the best out loved ones while they are still here. Say what you need to say. Do what you need to do. Treat every encounter as if it is their last day.

If, for some reason they do pass, you have the peace of mind to know you had the best time with them.

Too many people don’t say what they think. They fail to tell a loved one how much they love them and to thank them for all they have learnt from them. They think “I’ll do it later” … and it never comes.

You don’t want to live with regret. It zaps your energy as you wish you had done things differently.

If there is someone who has died and you wish you could have said things to, bring that person into your mind and have a conversation with them. Say the things you wanted to say. Let them know how you felt. You’ll be glad you did.

We are all the better for having friends and family in our life.

Appreciate what you have.