The world said goodbye to Holly Butcher, a 27-year-old woman from Grafton, Australia.Butcher had been battling Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that predominantly affects young people. In a statement posted on Butcher's memorialized Facebook account, her brother, Dean, and partner, Luke, confirmed the heartbreaking news to friends."It is with great sadness that we announce Holly's passing in the early hours of this morning," they wrote on Jan. 4, 2018. "After enduring so much, it was finally time for her to say goodbye to us all. The end was short and peaceful; she looked serene when we kissed her forehead and said our final farewells. As you would expect, Holly prepared a short message for you all, which will be posted above."Butcher's message, which Dean and Luke did, in fact, post publicly shortly thereafter, has brought the internet to tears. We believe her powerful message — which has amassed an incredible 72,000 Likes and 56,000 shares across the world so far — deserves to be spread far and wide.Butcher used her final post to reflect on what she's learned in her short but beautiful life, offering some advice to those of us who are willing to listen."It's a strange thing to [realize] and accept your mortality at 26 years young," she began. "I always imagined myself growing old, wrinkled and gray — most likely caused by the beautiful family (lots of kiddies) I planned on building with the love of my life. I want that so bad it hurts. That's the thing about life; It is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift, not a given right."Butcher's poignant post is definitely worth reading in full. But here are 16 especially powerful points:1. "I just want people to stop worrying so much about the small, meaningless stresses in life and try to remember that we all have the same fate after it all, so do what you can to make your time feel worthy and great, minus the bullshit. ... Those times you are [whining] about ridiculous things (something I have noticed so much these past few months), just think about someone who is really facing a problem. Be grateful for your minor issue and get over it. It's OK to acknowledge that something is annoying but try not to carry on about it and negatively affect other people's days."2. "Once you do that, get out there and take a freaking big breath of that fresh Aussie air deep in your lungs, look at how blue the sky is and how green the trees are; It is so beautiful. Think how lucky you are to be able to do just that — breathe. You might have got caught in bad traffic today, or had a bad sleep because your beautiful babies kept you awake, or your hairdresser cut your hair too short. ... I swear you will not be thinking of those things when it is your turn to go. It is all SO insignificant when you look at life as a whole. I'm watching my body waste away right before my eyes with nothing I can do about it and all I wish for now is that I could have just one more birthday or Christmas with my family, or just one more day with my partner and dog. Just one more."3. "I hear people complaining about how terrible work is or about how hard it is to exercise — be grateful you are physically able to. Work and exercise may seem like such trivial things…until your body doesn't allow you to do either of them… Appreciate your good health and functioning body — even if it isn't your ideal size. Look after it and embrace how amazing it is."4. "Give, give, give. It is true that you gain more happiness doing things for others than doing them for yourself. I wish I did this more. Since I have been sick, I have met the most incredibly giving and kind people and been the receiver of the most thoughtful and loving words and support from my family, friends and strangers; more than I could ever give in return. I will never forget this and will be forever grateful to all of these people."5. "This year, our family agreed to do no presents and despite the tree looking rather sad and empty (I nearly cracked Christmas Eve!), it was so nice because people didn't have the pressure of shopping and the effort went into writing a nice card for each other. Plus, imagine my family trying to buy me a present knowing they would probably end up with it themselves ... strange! ... but those cards mean more to me than any impulse purchase could. ... Anyway, moral of the story — presents are not needed for a meaningful Christmas."6. "Use your money on experiences ... or at least don't miss out on experiences because you spent all your money on material shit. Put in the effort to do that day trip to the beach you keep putting off. Dip your feet in the water and dig your toes in the sand. Wet your face with salt water."7. "Try just enjoying and being in moments rather than capturing them through the screen of your phone. Life isn't meant to be lived through a screen nor is it about getting the perfect photo."8. "Listen to music ... really listen. Music is therapy."9. "Cuddle your dog. Far out, I will miss that."10. "Talk to your friends. Put down your phone. Are they doing OK?"11. "Travel if it's your desire, don't if it's not."12. "Work to live, don't live to work."13. "Seriously, do what makes your heart feel happy."14. "Don't feel pressured to do what other people might think is a fulfilling life. You might want a mediocre life and that is so OK."15. "Tell your loved ones you love them every time you get the chance and love them with everything you have."16. "Oh and one last thing. If you can, do a good deed for humanity (and myself) and start regularly donating blood. It will make you feel good with the added bonus of saving lives. Blood donation (more bags than I could keep up with counting) helped keep me alive for an extra year — a year I will be forever grateful that I got to spend here on Earth with my family, friends and dog. A year I had some of the greatest times of my life."Butcher may be gone, but her impact will live on in the hearts and minds of people around the world."Never [met] her, but I am very touched and in tears," one Facebook user commented. "Such a bright light for a seemingly dark world at times," another chimed in. "Beautiful.""What a wise soul she is," someone concluded. "I'm off to donate my blood."Rest in peace, Holly. You made this world a better place. ❤️If you are in the U.S. and inspired by Butcher's message, consider finding a blood donation center near you. You could save a life.This article originally appeared on 01.08.18

Used books contain all kinds of treasures, from timeless tales to old illustrations to personalized elements that tell a story of their own. One of those stories posted to Reddit has people wondering about the details and creating their own backstories for a sweet boy and his mother. A user posted a photo of a handwritten inscription in a book they found at a Boston thrift store—"an uplifting Christmas message from a son to his mother"—that reads:"To my own and very dear mother I present this book on Christmas Day December, 1948 as one of my tokens of appreciation for all the love and kindnesses you have rendered unto me. Your son, Henry." from FoundPaper The poster added an additional note about the book that contained the note:"Found in the book 'Milton Cross's Complete Stories of the Great Operas'—the front of the book actually has the owner's full name and home address in it, but unfortunately it's a very common name and an address in a major city, and I was not able to find out what happened to her or Henry."People in the comments began creating their own stories about who Henry and his mom were and why he wrote the note the way he did:"I know we don’t know how old Henry was, but to me this looks like an older child’s handwriting and reads like a tween trying his hardest to impress his mother with his poetic language and now I’m tearing up at work. ?""Could be, but it was also popular in the era to ironically use overly flowery language to comic effect, since old people of the time often did genuinely speak like that. which, if he's being playful with his wording, i think it's still just as endearing. she was probably one of few people in his life who knew him well enough to tell which one it was, lol.""It’s reading, mom I’ve been working on my penmanship. Did I do good? Lol""Henry obviously broke a vase and doesn’t want to be punished!"People also found themselves moved by Henry's thoughtfulness and how seeing his note all these decades later connects us all through time."Somehow when I started to read this I thought it was fairly recent, like a kid practicing their cursive the way my elementary did, but once I reached the year something in me, idk, sunk? Hit me? Gets weirder realizing it’s almost 80 years ago. Feels bittersweet and weirdly metaphorical that the act of love transcends the span of life.""So beautiful that Henry’s love from 1948 reached out into the world again and we all felt it in 2024.""When giving someone a book, it's also a gift to the world to write a fond note in it. Good job Henry and Henry's mom.""Aww he loves his mama. It's really touching.""I would cry if my kids gave me such a note attached to a gift, so simple and sweet."In the digital age, handwritten notes have become rarer and rarer, which makes finding an inscription like this all the more special. Texts and emails are fine, but receiving a heartfelt message in someone's unique handwriting just hits on a whole other level. And when it's left in a book that someone chose especially for you, it's even more moving because it may touch others in the future the way Henry's note is touching people nearly 80 year later. It's also so heartening to see such a sweet sentiment expressed so eloquently, especially from a boy at an age when a mother's love and kindness might easily go overlooked. Well done, Henry. Perhaps your note will inspire others to share their own gratitude to a loved one. (And as someone in the comments wrote, "Render Kindness" would make an awesome bumper sticker.)

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by Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Craig Roberts: Paul Craig Roberts Major massacre as Israel attacks last functioning hospital in Gaza https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/10/25/735942/Israeli-major-massacre-Gaza-Jabalia-  “The attack on the Kamal Adwan hospital, located in Beit Lahia northwest of Jabalia, was launched around 2 a.m. local time Friday, shortly after a World Health Organization delegation left the hospital. “It began […]

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