In On The Road, Sal Paradise (Jack) says, "Life is holy and every moment is precious." It goes without saying. Doesn't it?
Or do we walk through our daily lives passionless, waiting for that big moment when things will be fantastic once again (or maybe for the first time)? Do we sleepwalk our lives away, unconscious, routinized, dead to the reality that any second could be our last?*
Do you really think on your deathbed that you'll be fretting over things you did? Or will you be regretting things you neglected to do or won't be able to ever do again? You'll wish you'd taken that trip to New Orleans you canceled because "you couldn't afford it." You'll wish you'd quit that lousy job and not wasted 20 years of your life being miserable. You'll wish you'd learned to play the piano. You'll wish you could walk on the beach barefoot one more time. You'll wish you could have one more bite of your favorite food. You'll wish you could tell everyone in your life how much they meant to you before it's too late.
Krishnamurti said, "If you had only one hour to live, what would you do? Would you not arrange what is necessary outwardly, your affairs, your will, and so on? Would you not call your family and friends together and ask their forgiveness for the harm that you might have done to them, and forgive them for whatever harm they might have done to you? Would you not die completely to the things of the mind, to desires and to the world? And if it can be done for an hour, then it can also be done for the days and years that may remain.... Try it and you will find out."
Right now, whatever you're doing, whether you're up, down, or sideways, take a second and acknowledge that at least you're alive.
Life is holy and every moment is precious! Act like it.
*This post was written yesterday, and this morning I read in the newspaper that actress Natasha Richardson has died from a fall on a beginner's ski slope. You never know....
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