Live Like You Are Dying
During the Holiday Season, sometimes it's difficult to be happy and grateful. Having lived close to half a century, I can't help but think of all the loved ones that have gone before me. My father, my uncle, all of my grand parents, aunts, many of my friends. All passed on. I know in my heart that I will see them again, but hopefully not for a long time. I am blessed with a wonderful family and friends that count on me everyday to be at my best, and that is what I strive to do everyday. It’s not always easy, as I am sure you can understand, because life is not always easy. That is why, in a non-negative way, I try and live everyday as if it were my last day. Doing so forces me to concentrate all of my energy on the people and activities (both work and leisure) that fill my soul with positive energy.
Ride A Bull
A famous country song by Tim McGraw talks about a person who finally does all the things that he wants to do in life because he has just found out that he is dying. Why wait until that happens? Live life to the fullest everyday. If you don’t, then use the song, or this blog post as a reminder to do it. This should not depress you, it should motivate you to love your family deeper, to go sky diving, even to ride a bull named Fu Manchu!
Earn it
Your life is a privilege given to you by God and your ancestors. Earning your life everyday should be your goal. Maintaining the positive relationships in your life and eliminating negative ones is something that we should all strive to do. These relationship may or may not be with people. They may be with objects or activities that give you joy, or, conversely, bring you negativity or pain. For example, being overly obsessed with making money and “making it” could get you into trouble with burn out or alienation of the people that you love the most. I have seen this happen time and time again. The work-life balance is not always easy to maintain, but we should at least be aware of the potential negative relationship that we have with money. Earning your place in the universe is something that you should think about everyday and throughout the day. Everything that you say or do has an effect on the environment and/or the people that are around you. I often think about how what I say or do will be interpreted by someone else before I do or say it. Easy to do in theory but hard to execute in practice.
Bathe in Life
Being their for others, one of the best ways to achieve both resilience and happiness, should be at the top of your list of things to do. By not focusing on yourself, you not only live a more fulfilling life but you embellish and improve the lives of those around you. Do this while not pushing the reciprocity button. Another one that is hard to do but well worth it. The key is not to expect anything in return. Getting back to the song, the man does many things for himself; however, you will find many more thing that he does for others: love deeper, spoke sweeter, gave forgiveness that he was denying, and became the friend a friend would like to have. As you can see, living like you are dying makes those around you feel good. In the end, that is what anyone would want, including those that have passed on before you.
Assignment
So this Holiday Season, as you do our shopping and put up all the decorations, take time to live like you are dying, truly. Let that idea soak in; not in a fit of depression as you reach for an extra helping of spiked eggnog, but as a way to live your life to the fullest possible way, with the people that matter to you the most. What are some of the things that you would do? Who would you forgive? Where would you go and who would you see? Who would you call?
“Lean into it!”
Dr. N