Imagine that you woke up one morning feeling as normal as any other morning. There was nothing to cause you alarm. The sun was just beginning to illuminate the world and you could tell that it was going to be a great day. You were excited about life and the different prospects that were beginning to manifest themselves as a result of all your hard work. You were feeling great – you even went out for a run to celebrate your commitment to good health.
Then, during the day, you received a phone call from your doctor. The lab results from your recent physical were back and she wants to review them with you. As you discuss them together, she informs you that there are some early warning indicators from your blood work that deserve further attention. She does not seem alarmed, she just wants to be sure. She assures you that she just wants to "play it safe" and then orders a battery of tests.
You leave the office feeling only minor concern. You are healthy and fit. You eat well and you exercise regularly. What could possibly be wrong with you? You complete the tests and go back to your normal routine. You feel confident, because of your general health. You give very little thought to receiving the test results. You are certain that there is nothing wrong with you.
Your Test Results Are In
A couple of healthy weeks pass by and you receive another call from your doctor informing you that your results are ready. She invites you to the office and asks that you bring your spouse with you. You enter her office and notice that her mood is somber. She tries her best to be energetic, but there is no way for her to deliver this sobering news without feeling serious. She tells you that you have pancreatic cancer and that there is very little that can be done to treat it. It is in its early stages, but it is advancing rapidly. You most likely have less than a year to live. Most of that time will be lived with very few symptoms of discomfort or pain. You will feel healthy until the last couple of months. This will make it hard for you to understand that you are dying, but it will not change the fact that within a year or less, you will be gone.
Denial takes on a new meaning as you deal with this news. You are healthy, and you prove it by continuing your daily fitness regime. It doesn't seem possible, but fortunately for you, the truth eventually settles in and you begin to make preparations for your pending demise. You decide to enjoy whatever time you have left. The search is on for quality. Quantity is now out of the question, it is only quality that interests you.
What Is Your Plan?
I want you to take a moment and really think about this scenario. Take some time and really think about the following questions. Print them and ponder them from the perspective that this is your true scenario. Don't just read them quickly. Let them be in your mind for a while. Remember, you are dying.
What are you doing right now that would be meaningless if you knew that you only have a year left to live? What would you do differently if you knew you only had one year of quality life left? How would you spend your time? How would this news change your life?
Would life seem more meaningful or meaningless for you? Would there be more purpose attached to your daily activities or would you just float through your remaining time doing things of little importance? Would you make plans, or would you just stay in bed feeling sorry for yourself? Would this news mean that life is over, or would it mean that it is just beginning? Do you feel like you would have more choices or fewer choices?
This Is A True Story
My friends, the only difference between the life you are living right now and the life I described above is that you currently have no idea when you are going to die. Nevertheless, you and I are dying. Someday soon, we will all be gone. Because we don't know when, it is easy pretend that we won't. We fool ourselves into believing that we have plenty of time and so we give very little thought to living life on purpose. We live, thinking about a lot of "somedays", but we rarely do enough, to make those "somedays" happen today. We live thinking that there is always plenty of time until we realize we are out of time.
There Is No Guarantee
Life is not about waiting for someday to get here. Life is about action. You have the power to act. You have the power to create the life you want, even if you know the approximate number of your remaining days. You have the power to invest your time wisely.
You will reap what you sow. This law can not be voided. It must be fulfilled. Those who choose not to act, will be acted upon. By that I mean that life will just happen to them. They won't live the life they hoped for; their dreams will not come true. They will simply go through life feeling unfulfilled and unenthused. Instead of living a life of action, they will live a life of reaction.
Carpe Articulum! – Seize The Moment!
Don't wait for the crisis to figure out how you will live your life. By then, it will be too late. I want to live life passionately. I want there to be no doubt that I love life. I want to honor today as the most valuable time I have, recognizing without fear, that every today I have could very well be my last.
In a way it is. Because every night when I lie down to go to sleep, the old Andrew dies. A new Andrew rises with every dawn. The mistakes and successes of the previous Andrews are all in the past. The future Andrews can only guide me, but the Andrew of today must act.
Sit quietly for a moment. Put your hand on your wrist or your heart and feel it beat. The rhythm of that pulse indicates that you are alive. I hope you are acting that way! I am.
Live Today! Love Today!
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