Imagine knowing that today was your last on Earth. Whether it’s a meteor in the sky that’s about to wipe out all civilization or the knowledge of a cancer diagnosis. Sometimes you have to think about your own oblivion and learn to both accept it and expect it. But can’t you imagine how freeing that would be? To not have to worry about what tomorrow, or next week, or next year would hold?
You'd maybe spend your last day crossing something off your bucket list. You might go skydiving (hence the photo) or swimming with sharks; either one of these would show that any fears or hesitations you once had have dissipated. You would find many changes within yourself.
The little things will stop mattering. You will suddenly realize that C on a test literally does not matter in the grand scheme. What will end up meaning the most to you, in a situation like this, is your family and friends, the love and relationships that you’ve built. Money won’t matter. Your success won’t matter. All that will matter is the other people in your life and how you interact with them, how you make sure they know what they mean to you.
Because these are the things that should matter to you now. Without any imminent threats to our safety, we lose sight of what’s important. We think earning a certain salary, getting a certain job, or even going to a certain college is what will make us happy and make our life complete. The simple fact is, at the end of the day — at the end of your last days — this isn’t true. What you will be thinking about is the impact that you have made on the lives around, the legacy that you leave behind. You don’t want your social footprint to be toxic, right?
As it is, though, we don’t consider these kinds of things regularly. Instead, we focus on the dollar signs, the material items we collect. I personally know that my collection of books will mean nothing to me once I’m dead — I don’t want to be remembered as the girl with the largest personal library, although that does sound pretty cool to me now — yet I still accumulate books as if my life depended on it. I admit that I’m too concerned with the here and now instead of how things will end, as with most people. All across the board, the things of this world, rather than the people, take up too much of our time and thoughts.
If you want to live today like it’s your last, you should call the people you love and tell them that. Then do it again tomorrow. And the next day, and on and on until it truly is your last day. What will happen is that they will truly know how you’ve cared about them. They won’t be mistaken or confused, which is exactly how it should be. Hold your parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters tight. If you have children, I’m sure you already understand the importance of telling them you love them every day. If today was your last, I’m sure that’s all you would want to be telling them, over and over. This world revolves around love. Not money or the size of your house. It’s time that we all stop to think about each other more, instead of ourselves, and focus on the positive impact we make on each other.
