I hate cancer – yes – I say it regularly – CANCER SUCKS…. But sometimes, just sometimes it actually provides much needed clarity? So my question for you is – if you knew your time on this earth was nearing its end, what would you do differently?
Last week, one of my survivors dropped by, I did not know she was coming. It was the first time I had ever seen her without her long, dark curls. In fact, she had just come from shaving her head – AGAIN. Yeah, as if treatment is not bad enough the first time, some have to go through it two to three times, so I say it again – CANCER SUCKS people.
But, back to my point, I knew when she walked in she had something to say, she always does if she is brave enough to come visit me unannounced. So, I sat down on the coach with my dear friend that I have known for over two and a half years. She shared with me how sick she is becoming and that her body is having difficulty handling the treatment and she believes her end is nearing. As her eyes welled up with tears and eventually spilled over, mine joined hers. We sat in silence for a moment, allowing me to take in the words she just spoke. But she quickly interrupted our silence by saying – it is good.
What a minute – WHAT??? How can that be good?
She said in this life, it is sad that it takes a circumstance such as this for people to tell you how much they love you and what you mean to them. It is true, we say such great things about people once they have passed – why in the world did we never say it to their face? What are we afraid of? Why can we not share our truest and deepest feelings with others?
So I am going to say it again… If you knew your end was near, what would you do differently? Sit with that a moment and then question why is it that you are not doing it now? We are ALL on a timeline people, some of us just happen to know it. Most of us do not. But it is possible your timeline ends tomorrow. It will for some…
Long after my friend walked out of the Club, I sat with my tears at the thought of losing yet another amazing person and friend to this horrible disease. But then I remembered, it is not all horrible. Good does come, as she so clearly reminded me. She is thankful that it has allowed her to talk with those she loves and share special time with them. Time where they are able to express their true feelings to each other. They enjoy the silent moments they spend just sitting together. They don’t waste time on little things or disagreements that don’t matter. They just sit there and experience the LOVE they share.
I have always been a believer that each day should be lived as if it was your last. I think with the current happenings of my life, I had forgotten that. So my challenge for you today is it to stop and spend a few minutes thinking about how your life may be different if you knew you only had a few days or weeks left on this earth. How would you spend it? Who would you spend it with and what would you share with them? Pick at least one of those things and do it TODAY. No one is guaranteed tomorrow…
Photo – the pergola Paul Fischer built to encourage others to love one another and help build each other up – not tear each other down.