My thoughts on "What would you do if...
...you were told you had twelve months to live"
It is one of the great tragedies of our time that we cannot easily answer this question:
"I would do everything the way I usually do it"
A great pity, isn't it? But we can't, because far too often we live a lie that we call "our life". How many things do we do even though they are not important to us? And how much time do we devote to things that are very important to us? How many things do we get angry about, even though we simply cannot change them?
Well, of the course of this year I've asked myself questions of this kind several times, so I guess thats why it addressed me right away on this WE topic. You can write a lot of clever words, but when you get into a potentially life-threatening situation, theory turns into hard practice and everything is different than before.
I have this habit (and I know a lot of people have this) that every time before I go on holiday I have to have the whole flat totally tidy and spotlessly clean. Haha, I haven't slept for whole nights before the holiday to be able to do this.
And yes, I think I would have to do that if I knew it was time to end life on this planet. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving what's left of me behind in a messy way.
Ey, aren't those crazy thoughts? Yes, probably. But then again, they're not. Everything was tidy when I landed here ;-) Okay, back then I didn't have much except a dummy, a teddy bear and a few nappies. In the decades since then, of course, a lot of useful and useless stuff has accumulated.
But it's not so much about the material things as it is about coming into peace with everything, like outside so inside. To say what always needed to be said. Letting go of all the useless real and thoughts ballast we all carry with us. And above all, to make decisions about what is truely important.
With all these thoughts, I realise that it doesn't really matter whether it's 12 days, 12 weeks, 12 months or 12 years. The most important thing is to live each day as beautifully as possible. Devote your life to the people and things that are really important to you. I mean, really important. No lazy compromises. And never stop dreaming. You cannot know what will happen in life. Even "sure-fire" predictions have been disproved many times.
A few weeks ago, one of our neighbours passed away. He was 87 years old and really very fit for his age. He loved and cared for his garden, a really special garden, and for as long as I can remember he has lived in this house across the street. One beautiful summer evening he went to bed and simply didn't wake up the next day. It was a shock for all of us and even more so, of course, for his family. But everyone agreed that it was the best thing for himself.
And on the day he left this earth, the roses in his front garden bloomed and shone even more beautifully than usual, as if they wanted to say goodbye to him with their fragrance and beauty.
Life is a mystery and a great gift that we are allowed to enjoy piece by piece like an exquisite bar of chocolate.
So I will end this post with the wise words of Monty Python:
"Always look on the bright side of life
You know, you come from nothing
You're going back to nothing
What have you lost? Nothing!"
:-) Yours, B.
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