A LIFE WELL LOVED
“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much.”—Bessie Anderson Stanley
I was sharing some stories recently about my sister, Nola, who has just transitioned from her human body. She walked this earth for 92 years, and when I think about her life, these words seem especially fitting. She was a gentle, kind and loving soul. Her family was everything to her, and when it came to her children, she protected them like a mountain lioness.
Her faith was strong, and as she grew older, she spoke openly about death. She wasn’t afraid. She said she was ready to go whenever it was her time. There is something beautiful about reaching that place of surrender where you know you have lived your life and can trust God with what comes next.
During my last visit with her, our conversation turned to our mother. We began reminiscing about growing up, although Nola’s experience was quite different from mine. She was the firstborn of thirteen children and had already left home and started a family of her own before I was even born. There were so many years between us that I really didn’t know what her childhood had been like. Growing up in our family was not always easy. Our parents carried the enormous responsibility of raising thirteen children. Just writing those words makes me wonder how they managed it at all. My mother was overwhelmed much of the time, especially when one—or several—of us misbehaved.
Over the years, some of my siblings and I have talked about those childhood experiences. We remembered things differently at times, but there were also memories we shared. Nola, however, was rarely part of those conversations because she had grown up in a different season of our family. So during that last visit, I was curious to hear her perspective. As we talked about Mom, Nola suddenly said very matter-of-factly, “She was a hard woman.” We all laughed. There was something about hearing those words come from our gentle, 92-year-old sister that struck us as funny. Maybe it was the way she said it. Maybe it was because, in that moment, decades disappeared and we were simply children again, remembering the woman who raised us. But there was no bitterness in the laughter. That is what stayed with me.
Life does not have to have been perfect for us to look back upon it with love. People do not have to have been perfect for us to understand them with compassion. My mother had her struggles. We had ours. Nola undoubtedly had hers. Yet here we were, all those decades later, able to laugh together about something that once may not have felt funny at all. Perhaps that is part of what healing looks like.
We sometimes think a successful life is measured by accomplishments, possessions, recognition or how much we leave behind. Yet when someone we love transitions, those things seem to fade into the background. What remains are the stories. The laughter. The hugs. The meals around the table. The moments when someone stood beside us. The times we knew without question that we were loved.
Nola loved much. She loved her family fiercely. She loved God faithfully. She lived for 92 years through changes in the world that most of us can only imagine. She experienced joy and sorrow, beginnings and endings, celebrations and losses. And through it all, she remained the gentle soul I knew as my sister. I believe there comes a point when we stop asking whether life was perfect and begin asking whether love was present. Love was present in Nola’s life. And perhaps that is the greatest success any of us can achieve.
Dear Angels, when we look back over a lifetime filled with both beautiful and difficult memories, how do we know whether we have lived well?
Dear Ones, do not measure the value of your journey only by the moments when everything went according to plan. A life well lived contains mountaintops and valleys, laughter and tears, mistakes and forgiveness. You came into this experience to love.
Every time you chose compassion instead of judgment, you loved. Every time you reached for another hand, you loved. Every time you forgave what once hurt you, you loved. Every time you laughed after you thought you would never smile again, you loved. Do not wait until the end of your earthly journey to decide whether your life has meaning. Create that meaning today.
Laugh when laughter comes.
Love without keeping score.
Forgive what your heart is ready to release.
Tell the people in your life what they mean to you.
And when memories of difficult days return, look at them through the eyes of who you are now. Sometimes healing does not erase the memory. It simply removes the sting and allows you to see the humanity in everyone who was there. Your earthly life is not measured by perfection, Dear Ones. It is measured in moments of love. Live those moments well.
Angels Whisper: At the end of the journey, you will not count the days you lived. You will remember the love you gave, the love you received, and the laughter that made the journey worthwhile.
Today, I promise to fill every moment of my life with love.
Teri Angel is a Joy Guide, Happiness Coach, energy healer, best-selling author, spiritual teacher, mentor, and inspirational speaker devoted to awakening peace within the human heart. As an International Peace Ambassador and founder of the nonprofit Angelspeakers Inc., Teri creates transformative workshops, sacred gatherings, and global initiatives that honor environmental stewardship, animal advocacy, peace consciousness, and the integration of ancient wisdom teachings into modern life.
Through her worldwide movement, Peas For Peace, Teri invites humanity to remember our divine interconnectedness—strengthening awareness of our oneness and inspiring unity through compassion, love, joy, and intentional action. During the Peace On Earth Tour, she was honored with the sacred name “She Who Blesses the Sacred Land,” a title she carries with humility and heartfelt grace as she continues blessing lands and waters around the world.
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