I Am Aware Of...(Journal Entry 1)

I Am Aware Of... My Mortality

I am aware that death is a part of life. Only one thing is certain, and that is our mortality. We may die today or we may live another s60 years. We may outlive our spouse or we may be the one receiving the rings as the casket takes it place at the front of church. A tragic car accident may take our life, we may lake our own life, or our bodies may succumb to cancer or disease.

Regardless of the timing or the cause, we are going to die.

Admitting to and acknowledging our mortality opens the door to one of two lifestyle choices. We may choose to fear death or we may choose to embrace life.

Whether you look at it that simply or not, you likely make such decisions unknowingly as you walk your earthly path. If you fear death for example, you’ve likely had an internal discussion similar to the one below:

“I better not sky dive, it’s dangerous.” (When I say this, I am saying– I’m terrified to die, and that fear is greater than my desire to fall freely amongst the clouds)

I would not encourage careless or reckless behavior such as drunk driving, boating without a life jacket, or driving your car off a bridge. However, embracing life means putting aside some of your fears and moving forward. Simply stated – to really live is to live like you are dying. What would you do if you knew you had only 30 days to live? If you are embracing life, your internal discussions may sounds more like this:

“I’ve always wanted to fly a plane; I signed up for flight lessons.” (When I say this, I am saying – I’m aware of the chance I’m taking, but the risk is worth it to do something I will enjoy)

We think we can wait until next year, or until we have more money in the bank, a bigger house, etc…the fact is, there is no guarantee. We owe it to ourselves to start living. In fact, we owe it to others to start living. There are people in our neighborhoods, cities, towns, and likely our own families we are fighting for one more breath, one more Christmas, one more kiss, one more moment. People confined to wheel chairs who would give everything they have for one more dance with their spouse. What an insult to them and an insult to our creator to take our moments for granted.

Live like you are living! Don’t put off until tomorrow what you could be doing today. Mend those broken relationships, take those risks. Each of us is here for a reason. We should make each breath and every moment count for something!