Live Like You're Dying, Because You Are

In the fall of 2003, I stood at the foot of a freshly-dug burial plot.

In just a matter of hours, a casket containing my son would be lowered into it.

It was at this moment that I truly realized just how precious and short life really is.

As we stood there at Kevin's grave, my daughter turned to me and innocently asked who would be buried directly beside Kevin. It was in that moment that it hit me like a ton of bricks. Those three remaining plots next to my son would some day be filled with me, my daughter, and my husband.

That meant one of us was next.

Sure, it may be years and years before the next one of us dies, but one of the three of us that remained standing there at the foot of his grave would eventually be next. That's when I first truly realized that I'm dying.

We all are.

What a wake up call.

This turning point has meant that I try to spend less time worrying about things that really don't matter and I try to spend more time focusing on the things that do.

I have pulled out my bucket list and made a more conscious effort at working through it and adding to it constantly.

Do I slip back in to old habits sometimes? Sure. It usually doesn't take long though before something shows up that gets my attention once again.

There are several reminders that I'm going to share with you in hopes that you too learn to live like you're dying. I strongly urge you to stop taking time for granted. Start enjoying the time you have left.

Somewhere back in school, I had a teacher who recommended keeping a written list of goals. She said that until you commit them to writing, you'll never begin to achieve them.

I also remember my senior class memory book contained a page for recording your goals for the future. My senior year of high school, I wrote out about a dozen goals for myself, closed the book and stored it away.

Four years after recording those goals, I looked back over them and to my own amazement I had already accomplished every single one of them. That reinforced that belief that writing them down was critical to achieving them. I have been writing down my goals ever since.

I strongly urge you to write your goals down. Periodically look at your list. I think you too will be amazed at how many will be accomplished without you giving them much conscious thought.

Nickelback's music video for "Saving Me" is one of my favorite reminders that our time is ticking down. I've included the video here so that you can see what I mean. Another is Tim McGraw's "Live Like You're Dying". I wasn't able to locate a good copy of his version but I found a great cover version. Another good video is also from NIckelback called "If Today Was Your Last Day". I hope you enjoy these and that they cause you to think about how you're living your life.

Can you imagine how different we'd behave if we could see our time ticking down?

How differently would you use your time if you knew how long you had?

Would more of the things you fret about fall by the wayside as you pursued what was really important to you?