It's good to feel lost.

Losing my mom has upended me—and it should upend you too. Life is too short and too long to live on autopilot.

My mom passed away almost two weeks ago, after a year of hosting a massive brain tumor, and that’s why I haven’t been writing. There’s a lot to think about when this sort of thing happens, but not a lot to say. Death upends the people it touches. Watching that death unfold, fighting hard (in your own way) to prevent it, and being an inch away when it happens, can leave one without words.

So I adopted a stray cat and saved it from freezing to death.

I adore the little guy. He kept coming around, meowing so loudly - cold, hungry, torn up, limping. It feels good to give him a solid chance at a good life – something a lot of us, humans or otherwise, don’t get. He reminds me of what life is really about: surviving, connecting, loving, nurturing.

Other than caring for this cat, I feel lost. I am questioning… everything. Is my job the right one? Am I living in the right place? Do I have the right friends? What will I regret when I’m 86?

Witnessing death disrupts inertia. It reminds us that most…