What If I Die Tomorrow — Just 1 Day Left To Live!
We all know death is inevitable. We will all die someday. Still, we live as if our time on earth is infinite, maybe because we become nervous when we think about it and hence prefer to ignore it. Even when I witnessed sudden and unexpected deaths of my dear ones, including my dearest Papa recently, I had never thought of my own. I believe death is nothing but a travel from this physical plane to the astral plane. But still, I do not have the courage to visualize my own death and its after-effects.
I recently read that AI (artificial intelligence) can predict heart failure and death better than a human doctor. Also, that an experiment proved that a single injection of stem cells could make mice live three times longer. So due to the massive progress in medical and scientific areas, I may live longer! But still, there is a small chance, maybe less than 0.01% that I will die tomorrow. I know life is a game of possibilities, not probabilities.
After reading the book ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch (a final note to the world and his family about how to live, love and let go), I started thinking about what I would say in my last lecture to the world. What would I do more or differently if I come to know that I have just one day more to live? Would I live a different life if I knew that?
I realized that my thoughts are mainly focused on my family, especially my kids. How would they cope with it? Who will be there to help them in all their day-to-day activities? Though they are grown up and are staying away from home, we have daily conversations, not just once but twice or thrice a day! How will my dear husband manage without my constant nagging? How will my loving friends bear the pain of my loss? How will my servant deal with it? How about my vegetable lady? How will my neighbours deal with it? How about my pet cat, Kurinji? What will be the fate of my plants? How will my home decor, especially my kitchen, look like after my departure from life? What will happen to my blog? These kinds of endless questions started surfacing in my mind whenever I think about my eternal rest.
Basically, I am a very lazy person. This is an open, sincere confession, trust me! I tend to postpone things for the most trivial reasons. I cancel the evening walk if there is the slightest chance of a drizzle. I never do a morning walk on the beach just 10 minutes away, because I don’t want to get up earlier. I put off my yoga practice just so that I can read a book. I even stopped visiting a beauty salon for hair colouring and facials just because I am too lazy to get out of the coziness my home!
If I knew I have just one more day to live I would get rid of my laziness and will not put off anything from now on. So the next time you see me (if there is a next time), if you don’t see any grey hair, you can assume I am not a lazy person anymore! :-)
I am not a morning person. But I would want to become one badly. ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg is the book I am reading now. In it, the author explains the science of habit formation and what motivates us to make the decisions we do in everyday life. I will post a book review of it soon.
When I challenged myself to stop drinking tea, many of my friends and relatives told me that I will not be able to achieve it. But I succeeded in sending a farewell letter to tea after trying for one year! :-) Getting up early is my next challenge. So I will work on it and I will get up no later than 4.30 am on my last-but-one day! But I am sure I will not take one year to achieve that milestone.
I don’t know about you, but I have a long bucket list. A solo trip is among the top five. I will share my bucket list in an upcoming blog post. Stay tuned :-) So now that I have just one more day to live I am seriously starting to review the list and planning to materialize the items soon. I will also work on my new year resolutions. I will be working a little harder to fulfill my dreams as I have just one more day to live!
I will also make a list of things I learned and experienced in my life, a reference manual, for the use of my children and grandchildren, if they wish to. I will surely start spending time with my dear ones and with more love. Also, I will cherish each and every second of my life starting from waking up in the morning. I will respect time more than I used to do. I will handle time as something very precious, more than diamond! From now on whatever I do I will give my best shot. I do not want to have any regrets on my last but one day!
Tell me about your thoughts and feelings if you get to know you have just one more day to live. Would you be happy with how you have lived? Or would you feel your life has just slipped through your fingers, out of living in the past or for the future?
Don’t put off things for later. Later does not always come to everyone. In the end, we only regret the chances we did not take! Spend quality time with your family. Keep in touch with your old friends. Don’t hold any grudge towards anyone. Before going to bed forgive everyone, including yourself, who made you cry knowingly or unknowingly. You will never know whether you will wake up tomorrow or not! Live life to the fullest so that you can rest in peace in future!
One Day, you will be just a memory for some people. Do your best to be a good one!
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever ~ Mahatma Gandhi
This story was first published in my personal blog — Melodies of Midlife
