What Would You Do If Now Was Your Last Chance?

Photo by Fungole (Tumblr)

Thought for the Day: Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory... Author unknown

Why don't we realize the value of some moments until they become memories? What memories have you realized weeks, months or years later were precious?

What would you do if NOW was your last chance to do something that was important to you? What would it be? Would you tell someone how important they are to you? Would you say the words, "I love you," that you have been trying to say, but couldn't? Would you get up the courage to ask someone out or propose marriage? Would you give notice at an unsatisfying job? Would you start a business, write a book, learn to dance?

Whatever keeps us from speaking up or making the changes we have been considering may be the same thing that leads to our not realizing how precious some moments in our lives are until they become memories. In order to live our lives, we act as if we have limitless time. If we constantly reminded ourselves that we are not invincible, we would be anxious & worried about the end of our lives. Therefore, we often take people & things in our lives for granted. We become complacent about our dreams & put off saying & doing things as if we have all the time in the world. Instead, we plan for special moments in our lives, like weddings, child namings, & graduations. We hire photographers to keep a record of these events. However, it is often the unplanned, spontaneous moments that occur in the middle of our busy lives that we only appreciate after the fact, when we lose the opportunity to do it again. Perhaps the ease of taking photos on our phones & posting them on social media will help us pay attention to the precious moments of everyday life.

However, just taking pictures to document the memories will not solve the problem. Even though we may never totally appreciate every important moment, I have some ideas about how to pay attention to more of them. If we dream as if we will live forever, but plan as if there is no tomorrow, it will force us to pay attention to NOW. It will help us push ourselves to start moving towards our dreams & encourages us to use & appreciate our time NOW more wisely.

 As you start this week, take time for NOW! Pay attention to the moments & do the things you would do if it was your last chance to do them.

What would you do if NOW was your last chance? I'd love to hear what you would do.