I remember reading Paul's original piece in the NY Times last year; a touching piece on how at any given moment, everything can fall apart. A few weeks ago, his latest beautifully written piece in Stanford Medicine Magazine came out along with a moving video about his painful journey with this cancer. He had setbacks during his latest round of chemo but he pulled through and it seemed that things were at the very least, maintainable especially given the severity of this cancer.

It was indeed a rude awakening a few days ago to find out via Twitter how Dr. Kalanithi had passed away. It seemed sudden, in your face, powerful, painful and relentless especially related to a man I have never met.

It shows you that disease, life, and ultimately death does not discriminate against anyone and can hit at anytime - even those who work day in and day out to heel others. It shows how precious, fragile and relentless life truly is, how lucky we are to be here, commenting on the latest Macbook or tinkering away at our projects. The world and time, like Paul said, doesn't stop for anyone, it just keeps going. And it's best to go with it and try to make the most out of what you're given.

If one can learn anything from his journey, and his eloquent writings, it is that we must always move forward at a constant rate and be grateful for each day, pursue it intelligently, happily and full of energy.

Our time is limited and when you see such a tragic case of life (and death) unfold before you, for many via the Internet - you stop for a second and think - but hopefully, only for that second as time just keeps ticking away.