Live life fully and death holds less grief

posted in: grief recovery, Spirituality | 0

In the end it all comes down to this…

How would you finish that sentence? What is your “this”? I’m going to share my ending with you, but I’d love for you to pause right now and write out your own thoughts, then post them on the blog.

I’ve been reading the book Life is a Verb by Patti Digh. (Check out her fantastic blog: http://www.37days.typepad.com) The book was inspired by the death of the author’s step-dad, who died 37 days after receiving a terminal diagnosis. Reflecting on life’s end brings the most important aspects of life into focus. I remember talking about this subject with my father-in-law the year before he died. He said, “I just wanted to have fun.” His life had been successful in his eyes, by the measurement he alone was authorized to choose. We each decide if we have lived well. And so, in the end, for me, it all comes down to this:

How much of your SELF did you discover and pour out as a blessing? How well did you love? How much room did you make at the hearth of your heart for the love others offered you? How freely and often did you laugh? How deeply did you appreciate the gift of life?

And in the end…when will that be? What if it were in 37 days? The truth is we don’t know how many days are left to us. This day we have now is the one precious gift we can count on. Let’s use it well. Whatever it all comes down to in the end for you, focus on that now.

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