What's Death Got To Do With It?

I remember the morning of 9/11. I was getting ready for work and got a call from my boss urging me to turn on my TV. I thought he was exaggerating. I soon learned he wasn't.

Years later, I think of all the people who went to work that day, business as usual, who didn't make it home that night.

So death is on my mind today.

• I'm reminded of the friend who retired early to squeeze in as much travel as possible after getting a diagnosis.

• I'm reminded of the friend who got a second chance at life after a car accident left him paralyzed in his mid 20's, and how he squeezed every ounce of life from the years he had left.

• I'm reminded of my father, who died in his early 60's, thinking he had so much more time.

Their stories shaped me. I'm sure you've got your stories, too. 

In her illuminating book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bonnie Ware shares that the #1 regret of the hospice patients she worked with was "I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me". How's that for a mic drop?

So, as I sit with the awareness of how precious life is, I'm more resolved than ever to not take any of it for granted. I'm asking myself, if I only had a few years left to live, what would I do with my precious, remaining time?

• Who can I love more fully?

• What positive impact can I make this week, this month, this year?

• Where have I not been that I want to experience?

• When can I be with the people I love most?

• How can I find the courage to live a life even more true to myself?

So I ask you, if you only had a few years left to live, what would you do with your precious, remaining, time? Start there.