I have no idea who authored this image. I have seen it several times posted in various places on the Internet and no one ever credited for creating it. I think it's a good reminder for all of us to make sure our priorities are where they belong. When you get to the end of your life, what will you regret most? Regardless of your beliefs about what happens after death, it is a question worth considering. Are you sacrificing things that matter most in the big picture to get things that only bring temporary satisfaction?
I have faced the possibility of my own death several times. During my battles with recurrent pancreatitis, when I was in the hospital, unable to eat without having severe pain, getting intravenous nutrition, my only regrets were: working too much, missing holidays and weekends with my son, and letting fear make my choices. That experience of facing serious illness changed my life and caused me to evaluate my priorities. I changed my whole life, holding nothing back, so that I could enjoy each day and stop waiting to make my life what I wanted.
Two years ago, I was driving home after having done an amazing pranic healing session for someone. Pranic healing is the Ayurvedic version of energy healing and chakra balancing. I decided to take a different way home and got lost, but I was feeling so peaceful after the healing session that I didn't care. It started to rain. I was taking it all in stride. Suddenly, a pickup truck zoomed past me, swerved in front of me, and stopped. I didn't have enough time to break, so I turned to avoid hitting the truck and found myself heading straight for the four-foot high cement median topped by metal poles that was dividing the four-lane road. I thought, "This is it. I'm probably going to die right now. If that's how it is, then okay, I've lived the best I can. But I have to keep my cool if I have a change of getting out of this."
For anyone else who has had this type of experience, it really does feel like time slows down. Everything seemed to be happening in super-slow motion. I could see everything, like in The Matrix, when Neo bends to avoid the bullets on the subway tracks. Pictures were flashing through my head of all the times I have spent with my family, all the snuggles I've had with my dogs, and so many amazing healing sessions with my clients. I was mentally calculating the odds of various outcomes when I finally hit the median: the odds of being thrown from the car, the odds of being crushed as the hood of my car crinkled up like an accordion with impact, the odds of ending up in a coma due to head trauma...I was even remembering to pump the brakes because the road was slippery! It's incredible how fast the mind works! In a matter of seconds, I had swerved to miss the head-on collision with the concrete median and was headed for a head-on collision with the metal guardrail on the other side of the road. Just before I slammed into the guardrail, I stamped down the brake pedal as hard as I could and made the sharpest right-hand turn that I could manage. I hit the guardrail with the full driver's side of my car, and the next breath I took was full of surprise and gratitude. When I got out of the car after taking a few deep breaths and checking myself for injuries, there was only a scrape along the side of the hood! A police officer drove up to see if I was alright. He said he saw the whole thing and could not believe that, not only was there no dent in the car, I was not even a little bit hurt. He stayed with me for a few minutes to make sure I was not in shock, then gave me directions to get home and I was on my way.
The point of my sharing that story is that it made me realize how different my life is now. Faced with the prospect of my own death, or at the very least severe injury, I had no fear. Did I like the possibility of dying? Certainly not! However, I kept calm and was able to take action because I didn't feel fear. In less than a second, I decided that if I was going to die, I was going to do it calmly and while remembering the best parts of my life. That experience affirmed all the changes I have made, and reinforced my commitment to living life fully on a da.
I plan for tomorrow, but I live for today.
I have faced the possibility of my own death several times. During my battles with recurrent pancreatitis, when I was in the hospital, unable to eat without having severe pain, getting intravenous nutrition, my only regrets were: working too much, missing holidays and weekends with my son, and letting fear make my choices. That experience of facing serious illness changed my life and caused me to evaluate my priorities. I changed my whole life, holding nothing back, so that I could enjoy each day and stop waiting to make my life what I wanted.
Two years ago, I was driving home after having done an amazing pranic healing session for someone. Pranic healing is the Ayurvedic version of energy healing and chakra balancing. I decided to take a different way home and got lost, but I was feeling so peaceful after the healing session that I didn't care. It started to rain. I was taking it all in stride. Suddenly, a pickup truck zoomed past me, swerved in front of me, and stopped. I didn't have enough time to break, so I turned to avoid hitting the truck and found myself heading straight for the four-foot high cement median topped by metal poles that was dividing the four-lane road. I thought, "This is it. I'm probably going to die right now. If that's how it is, then okay, I've lived the best I can. But I have to keep my cool if I have a change of getting out of this."
For anyone else who has had this type of experience, it really does feel like time slows down. Everything seemed to be happening in super-slow motion. I could see everything, like in The Matrix, when Neo bends to avoid the bullets on the subway tracks. Pictures were flashing through my head of all the times I have spent with my family, all the snuggles I've had with my dogs, and so many amazing healing sessions with my clients. I was mentally calculating the odds of various outcomes when I finally hit the median: the odds of being thrown from the car, the odds of being crushed as the hood of my car crinkled up like an accordion with impact, the odds of ending up in a coma due to head trauma...I was even remembering to pump the brakes because the road was slippery! It's incredible how fast the mind works! In a matter of seconds, I had swerved to miss the head-on collision with the concrete median and was headed for a head-on collision with the metal guardrail on the other side of the road. Just before I slammed into the guardrail, I stamped down the brake pedal as hard as I could and made the sharpest right-hand turn that I could manage. I hit the guardrail with the full driver's side of my car, and the next breath I took was full of surprise and gratitude. When I got out of the car after taking a few deep breaths and checking myself for injuries, there was only a scrape along the side of the hood! A police officer drove up to see if I was alright. He said he saw the whole thing and could not believe that, not only was there no dent in the car, I was not even a little bit hurt. He stayed with me for a few minutes to make sure I was not in shock, then gave me directions to get home and I was on my way.
The point of my sharing that story is that it made me realize how different my life is now. Faced with the prospect of my own death, or at the very least severe injury, I had no fear. Did I like the possibility of dying? Certainly not! However, I kept calm and was able to take action because I didn't feel fear. In less than a second, I decided that if I was going to die, I was going to do it calmly and while remembering the best parts of my life. That experience affirmed all the changes I have made, and reinforced my commitment to living life fully on a da.
I plan for tomorrow, but I live for today.