Winning the lottery? Writing a hit song? Having someone make medical decisions for you?

The first two may be unlikely, but more often than you may think, a stranger may make life or death decisions for you. There is a simple way to avoid this situation, but many people put if off for various reasons. What is it? A living will.

A living will is your written declaration which clearly states your wishes regarding the treatments you want or do not want in the event of a terminal illness or serious accident.

People use flowers for a number of reasons. They are sent to others when something great has happened in their life, as an expression of love, for encouragement, and also for sympathy. They are a way in which people let others know that they are thinking about them in both good times and in bad, but it is in the bad times when someone needs to know that they are supported, especially in a time of grief.

Unfortunately the depression is today statistically one of the first causes of death

And the question that immediately arises after this statement is...

Hoy have we reached this point?

The answer is that the civilization does not evolve equally in all its fields. Today we can find in our homes, things that where unbelievable only 100 years ago, but there are also great social inequities, with a level of information never reached before, and the fact that we can instantly know all the bad things that happen around the world (good news don't sell well), plus a constant publicity bombarding that tells us that there are people that live much better than we do, or that we lack of what it's necessary to be really happy.

One of the most difficult cards to send to a family or friend is a sympathy card. Why? Because if you are like us, you have many mixed feeling on what is truly appropriate for the situation.

But never underestimate the powerful message you convey by just sending a card at a time of grief. While many ask that donations be given in lieu of flowers, it is always appropriate to send a card to honor the departed one.

Elma died last Friday and today we went to the funeral. There were a good number of people in the church but most of them in their eighties. Elma had a lot of friends. There were some tears and some sniffling but mostly there were smiles and warm greetings. Elma left little in terms of material possessions but she left a full story and lived a meaningful life.

Look into most UK laws and you will find origins dating back to Roman times. They may well have invaded our country but they bought with them many benefits, being way ahead of their times in matters of order and rights.

They can be held pretty much responsible for many laws governing making a will also. Many countries had no propensity to enforce where a person's belongings went to on their death and if today's standards are anything to go by, this could have led to many family feuds.

However little you think you may have, making a will is as important as if you were wealthy. And your current state of health, however good, is not a reason for putting it off. If you have no property or savings to leave to your next of kin, would you necessarily want to leave them with your debts and problems? Of course not.

There are decisions to be made regarding who will look after underage children.

The death of a loved one is the hardest thing you'll ever deal with in life. During and after the funeral, there seems to be an endless stream of tears, sleepless nights and sickness in the pit of your stomach. You wonder how you will ever go on without being able to touch, laugh with or talk to that person again.

While a period of mourning is normal, you may find that you've lost your appetite for weeks, you find yourself listless and unable to get out of bed, you're slowly withdrawing from friends and family, and the weight on your heart doesn't seem to go away.

When somebody we know loses a loved one, or when we ourselves encounter the pain of loss, sometimes there really are no words to express how we feel. We may find ourselves grasping for just the right thing to say, and sometimes, even when we have the best intentions at heart, we often still end up saying the wrong thing or we end up not saying anything at all.

I was at Wal-Mart with my one and a half year old granddaughter and her two and a half year old brother. Without any warning my granddaughter started smiling and waving while saying hello to everyone we walked passed. No one seemed to notice her eager greetings, as if her little welcoming voice wasn't enough to pull them out of their busy schedule.