Purpose, resilience, beauty, and other April themes

How would you spend your time if you knew you only had a year, maybe a year and a half, left to live?

Well, one man has turned his prognosis into a mission, something he is calling the Dying to Serve Tour. Per DyingtoServe.com, “Doug (Ruch of San Antonio) was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2021 and has been fighting it ever since. In early 2025, he received the devastating news that his cancer was now stage 4 and has metastasized. He has been given 12-18 months to live. Doug took this news as a call to action! His dying wish is to help as many people going through tough times as he can with the time he has left.

“With that goal in mind, he is going to visit and volunteer his time helping those in need in ALL 50 states. Doug is using JustServe.org to plan and book his volunteer opportunities and will be posting updates after each stop on the tour with details of where he volunteered and who he helped.”

So far, he has volunteered with food banks and homeless shelters, packing and distributing food, and met a lot of amazing people along the way, while also bringing publicity to several worthy organizations. What a way to spend your final days on this planet. Doug’s example can serve as an inspiration to live every day with intention and not waste our precious time. We all have a purpose.

- Now for some holidays, courtesy of NationalToday.com: Today, April 16 marks Selena Day, remembering the famous singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, most often referred to just as “Selena” (April 16, 1971–March 31, 1995). Selena had a talent for music ever since childhood, and by age 10 was the lead singer of her family band. By age 13, she had recorded her first album.

She became known as the “Queen of Tejano Music,” that is, music from South Texas that blends Mexican and Texan musical traditions. She broke boundaries by becoming very popular in a music genre previously dominated by men. She went on to become one of the best-selling female artists in Latin music history. Tragically, she was shot at the age of 23 by the president of her fan club. However, her legacy lives on. In 2020, Billboard magazine put her in third place on their list of “Greatest Latino Artists of All Time,” based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart.

- Today also marks World Semicolon Day, which is linked to the nonprofit organization ‘Project Semicolon’ which defines itself as being “dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction, and self-injury.” Project Semicolon was created by Amy Bleuel of Green Bay in 2013, and the first World Semicolon Day was observed in 2016.

“In writing, a semicolon signifies that the author could have ended the sentence but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life,” Project Semicolon explains. As such, the semicolon is a symbol of hope and resilience.

Know that if you are struggling with mental health, you are not alone. There is always hope. Please reach out to someone you trust; don’t battle alone. You can also call or text 988 or visit 988Lifeline.org to chat with a caring counselor, or to seek help on behalf a friend or family member. - Also ongoing from now until May 26 is the Fuji Shibazakura Festival, which takes place near Lake Motosuko in Japan. This popular festival attracts thousands of tourists to see the large fields of blooming shibazakura (a plant also known as moss pink, moss phlox, or lawn cherry). This flowering plant grows along the edges of Mount Fuji and covers the landscape in blankets of magenta, purple, and white blossoms.

Thereareover800,000 shibazakura flowers on display during the festival, more than anywhere else around Tokyo. The flowers bloom just after the cherry blossom trees from April to late May.

The pictures I have seen look absolutely gorgeous. You will have to look it up for yourself – it’s a great one to add to the bucket list.

- This Saturday, April 19, is Poetry and the Creative Mind Day, held in conjunction with National Poetry Month. Poetry has been around since antiquity, starting with folk songs and tales. Human beings have always had a fascination with story. From the world's oldest surviving piece of literature, ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh,” to Shakespeare’s sonnets, to the Romantic poets like Wordsworth and Lord Byron, to modern-day poets and songwriters, the written word lives on.

Poetry challenges the writer to say something of substance while conforming to very specific parameters, such as rhyme scheme or meter, along with carefully choosing the precise words needed to convey meaning in a concise format.

To celebrate Poetry Month, consider reading one of the many poems on PoetryFoundation.org, searchable by just about any topic or theme you can think of. Or, use Poetry and the Creative Mind Day as an excuse to express your own creativity, whether it’s writing, making music, painting or drawing, or some other art form.

- Finally and most importantly, Happy Easter! This weekend, the world’s approximately 2.38 billion Christians will join together to celebrate the defining moments in human history – Christ’s death, burial, and subsequent resurrection.

May you have a joyous day celebrating Christ’s resurrection and the hope of eternal life.

“ But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” – John 1:12-13

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