Live Like No One Else is Judging

THE ORIGIN OF THIS MANIFESTO…

Suppose you get just one more week to live.

Seven days.

Then your life returns to where it came.

What would you do?

Urban Monk’s little project of donating money to charity in exchange for bloggers writing their hypothetical “last blog posts” had bloggers brainstorming on what they’d say to their readers as a last post. Urban Monk based on his post on “If I die tomorrow, this is the one message that I hope to leave.”

Dying the next day is a bit drastic for me, I’d probably not be blogging if I only had 24 hours. I’ll give myself a week instead, hence my opening statement of “one more week to live.” You can do more stuff in seven days. Have more time to reflect. More importantly, have more time to live.

If I were to die next week…
I’d live like no one else is judging.
I’d waste no time in regret or worry.
I’d immerse myself in the present.
I’d forgive the people whom I believed wronged me.
I’d forgive myself for having hurt others and having hurt myself.
I’d smile more at strangers and especially at the people I love.
I’d tell people I love that I love them and I’d thank them for being in my life.
I’d listen to the leaves rustling in the wind and hear the music I’d been too busy to hear.
I’d dance the way my body feels like to dance and not care about feeling embarrassed.
I’d sing loudly and at the top of my lungs to remember what my voice sounds like.
I’d try talking like animals, especially ducks, maybe try waddle like them too.
I’d smell the flowers and pay attention to their petals.
I’d take myself off the hook for all the things I “should be” doing.
I’d pat myself on the back for the things I actually did.
I’d become still enough to connect with the Self that came to life as I am.
…Then, I’d let each of my remaining breath give thanks for my one chance at this lifetime.

Write your own list and see what you come up with. Then after you’re done, change the verb tenses to all present tense. Mine reads like this:

Today…
I live like no one else is judging.
I waste no time in regret or worry.
I immerse myself in the present.
I forgive the people whom I believed wronged me.
I forgive myself for having hurt others and having hurt myself.
I smile more at strangers and especially at the people I love.
I tell people I love that I love them and I thank them for being in my life.
I listen to the leaves rustling in the wind and hear the music I am open to hear.
I dance the way my body feels like to dance.
I sing loudly and at the top of my lungs and hear what joy sounds like.
I talk like animals, especially ducks – when I feel like it, maybe I waddle like them.
I smell the flowers and pay attention to their petals.
I take myself off the hook for all the things I “should be” doing.
I pat myself on the back for the things I actually did.
I am still – and connect with the Self that came to life as I am.
Today I let each of my remaining breath give thanks for my one chance at this lifetime.

Looks like I’ve just figured out my life meditation. What did you come up with?

Thanks to Wanda for the tag.

P.S. I’ve seen this “last blog post” meme for some time, and avoided writing about it. If you’ve read this, you can guess why the topic touched a nerve.

Like It? Please Share It!