In My Last Days
What to Say
There is a saying "deathly ill," what if it were your last days of life - as we know it?
What would be on your to do list?
Under these circumstances would money, bills, material possessions have the same priority as they do now? It's not something we want to think about but it does provoke thoughts.
There's another saying "stop and smell the roses." How often do you take the time to do this?
It seems the frantic pace that life presents most people with doesn't include stopping to smell to many flowers. There's a whole different attitude when you're told you have a limited time here on earth. Many of the thing that were once important are no longer at the top of the list.
In my final days I would tell the people I've hurt, I'm sorry, and to the people I love: "till we meet again." Some people don't have the luxury of knowing time is short, accidents have no warnings. Some people think they are exempt, they have been blessed, but in the blink of an eye that can all change then what would you say. Nothing, your gone it's over Ka-put.
What would you say in your last days?
Young or old, all of us will be faced with this question. We avoid it, we don't want to think about it, but it's coming some sooner than later, but it is coming. So should we live our lives now as if it was our last days? Would we be kinder more understanding and thoughtful to each other? I really wonder how much money a super rich person would give only to have a few more days.
Then this question I pose, why wait till it's you last days? Why not say what you should say today and not be remorseful if you lost the chance. Don't wait for you last days to say what you need to say today. Look in the mirror, reach down inside and see if you would change. If you said yes, then why wait for your last days? Change today and you won't have to worry if it's your last day.
What to Do
In our last days what would we do? We all have a tendency to say I should have or could have, but that's water under the bridge. There are four stages leading up to the last days and they are:
- Realization - something in me is changed, not as it has been
- Anger - why me
- Resistance - I am going to fight and beat it
- Acceptance - submission to reality
Recently the passing of Randy Pausch Carnegie Mellon Professor, Author of 'The Last Lecture,' Succumbs to Cancer at the age of 47. If there was anybody who could beat the last days it surely would be him.
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
Randy received a lot of attention because of ABC, but we each have our own last lecture that won't end up on ABC, what would you say? Could we handle it as positively as Randy did?
Granted, we have no idea what his lifestyle was and could it have led to the cell destructive cancer?
When we finally accept our body is at risk and the final days are near, what would you do differently? Maybe the better question is, why not do now what you would do then?
Life is finite. There's a beginning and a end as we know it. Is the purpose really to accumulate as much "stuff" as possible or wake up eat, go to work then eat and go to sleep...over and over and over again?
You see, there's many more questions than answers when it comes to contemplating the end of life.
So the question still lingers, what would you do in your last days?
The Proposal
We don't always get the chance to make amends, say words only thought, because life isn't always predictable.
I'm sure many of you have already experienced the unexpected death of a friend or family member, and you regret not saying what you wanted to because of procrastination; this is unfortunate.
If you take anything away from this article take this: regrets can easily turn into guilt, and guilt can be a cancer to your existence. And we're not talking about a caner growing in your body. We're talking about a cancer planting roots in your mind.
This is one of the worse kinds of cancer because it's inoperable; this is why it's important not to procrastinate when it comes to reconciling relationships.
