What would you like others to say about you when it does happen? "Boy, that Mike could sure write a blog." "Wow, what a talker, boy oh boy, could he ever talk up a storm." "And repair cars, sheesh! Great with a wrench that man!" Certainly not what I would like others to remember me for. When you go into a nursing home and look at the walls in peoples rooms, what do you see? Do you see Trophies, plaques and awards or pictures of family and loved ones? The latter, isn't it.
When we are younger we want to accumulate as much as we can. Wealth, health, homes, cars, women, kids you name it. But as we grow older we start to realize there is more to life than all this stuff. We slowly start to move from ambition to meaning. We start to look for meaning in our lives. A "Why am I here", "What have I done with my life", attitude. This usually happens just after that last gasp effort to hang on to all that materialism, the great "Mid-life Crisis."
This brings me to a report I read not that long ago. A survey was taken across America and Hospice workers were asked the following question:
"What are the five most frequent regrets expressed when people are on their death beds?"
1. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
2. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
3. I wish I had let myself be happier.
4. I wish I had had the courage to express my true self.
5. I wish I'd lived a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expected of me.
That last one is a biggie. Think of what they will say about you at your funeral. If it's not what you think it should be, it's never too late to change it. Look at that list of five regrets again. Go ahead, look. Do you wan't to feel this way on your death bed?
What awaits us after we pass on, no one alive today really knows, but I believe it will be absolutely marvelous, and I for one, plan to have no regrets!
Take what resonates and leave the rest.
Tell me how you feel below. I'd love to hear from you.
"When you die, you will be forced to lose everything, yet something will remain. It is the soul, which is real. Therefore you should celebrate loss. The trappings of existence can fall away at any time; the essence will always remain. And that essence is you." - Deepak Chopra
Remember, "You're the one!"