“It is not death most people are afraid of. It is getting to the end of life only to realize that you never truly lived.” Prince Ea (American Rapper and Spoken Word Artist)
Perhaps another way of saying this is that everybody dies, but not everybody truly lives. Which begs the question: How far away are you from death?
Ok, ok…I know. You’re wondering why such a morbid question this early in the morning? Well, like it or not, everyone answers the above question either consciously or unconsciously. And the further away from death you believe that you are, the easier it is to procrastinate, put things off to another day, to give into your distractions, to be lazy, and to validate unproductive uses of your time. On the other hand, the closer to death that you believe you are, the more difficult it is to explain even one day not aimed at fulfilling your purpose.
In the end, none of us know how far away from death we are, which gives us a false sense of security in that we can accomplish so much more… later.
The fact is, when death feels like a distant outcome, the value of today drops in your mind.
But when death feels like an impending certainty, the value of today elevates in your mind.
Shall we wait, therefore, for the approaching reality of the shadow of death to trigger in us a desire to live for today? May it never be! May we acknowledge the value, importance, significance and gravity of our purpose today in each breath we breathe, each person in which we interact, each dollar we spend and each decision we make.
May we no longer justify squandering the unknown time we have left, for none of us know whether it be one more day or 50 more years. Let us not fear death, but rather, may we truly live for today, embracing the circumstances and storms, seeking to turn our tragedies into triumphs, and our stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
You were made on purpose, for a purpose.
Truly live it today.
