granted never comes? Or what if tomorrow is
my last day on earth?"
Martha, an old woman of 85, was obsessed with
thoughts like these. She lived alone in her big
apartment, surrounded by objects from her past.
She would worry all night long, getting up
to walk around, then returning to her empty bed,
turning the thoughts over and over in her mind
like a dog gnawing an old bone. She did it so
much that finally her fear turned into wisdom.
The next morning she made herself a promise.
"I am going to live each and every day as if it
were my last! That's the only way to really enjoy
life."
Now Martha reads a lot and spends (a-take out)
less time dusting old furniture. She admires the
flowers in her garden without worrying too much
about the weeds that crop up here and there.
She invites people she likes to her home, but
doesn't sit there waiting for them to arrive. And
when they do arrive, she uses her best china to
serve tea and cake, without worrying about a
precious cup or plate getting dirty or being
broken.
She's started wearing the beautiful red cashmere
jacket her grandchildren gave her for Christmas.
She even wears it to go out walking, and puts a
dab of her best perfume behind her ears.
But most importantly, Martha has stopped saying,
"I'll do that one day, when I have the time."
Now she says, "If it's worth doing, I'm going to
do it now!"
Like Martha, you, too, should think about what
you'd do if someone said, "This is your last day on earth!"
You would realize that priorities fall into place
naturally, that many things resolve themselves and
that whatever is superfluous in your life disappears.
Don't wait for the day when tragedy strikes to force
you to consider what it is you really want to do in
life.
- Author unknown -
Posted by Priya Deelchand
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