The brevity of life is something I grapple with on a constant basis. The reality is none of us are getting younger and with each intake of air we draw closer to our final breath. Last year my wife’s mother passed away, a heartbreaking time of life for all who knew her, loved her, and were loved by her. The truth is, her memory will live on in our hearts and minds forever even if the warmth, love and laughter she brought into every situation is no longer with us here on earth. The peace we enjoy is knowing that today she celebrates in Heaven with no more pain, no more sorry - only joy filled days enjoying her reward from her time here on earth.
And although in her case, once diagnosed with cancer she in effect was on a hard clock in terms of the time she had left here on earth, the reality is, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, WE ALL are on a hard clock. The difference being we haven’t been told what that time frame is. But what if we actually knew?
If you knew what that timeframe was, would it change what you are planning to do today? It reminds me of the country song that advised us to live like we were dying. What if you knew that you only have 24 hours left on this earth.
This is a difficult concept to wrap your mind around, statistically you probably won’t die today so perhaps the idea is foreign to you. I would argue to the contrary though, why don’t you live every day as if it was your last day. The fact is even if this was your last day, the ability to take the dream vacation, or visit Disney World, or that thing you’ve been waiting a lifetime to do really probably couldn’t be pulled together in 24 hours.
So that would limit you to things in your immediate sphere of geographical location and be inclusive of the friends or family you could get to within a few hours. The who, what, where, when and how of your final hours would be for you to decide and dictate.
And yet the who, what, where, when and how of your life each and every day is in fact controlled by and dictated by you. You are the master of those decisions. You are the one who could effect change to those circumstances. You are the one that decides if your life stays stagnant or if real meaningful change takes place.
As my brother in law and I drove around town in preparation for the funeral he commented to me on how much he hated his job. This weeks “Monday Morning Minute” is the conversation I had with him. I told him if he woke up everyday thinking that that day was his last, most certainly he’d make much different decisions than those he is currently living in his life.
And if that advice is good for him, I promise you it is as good and as relevant for me and you as well. So as you get ready to tackle today, why not spend a few minutes being intentional about living your life as if it was the last day you had here on earth.
I think you will be surprised at the outcome at the end of the day - so surprised in fact that perhaps you’ll embrace the same thought and idea tomorrow - and live today as if it was your last day.
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