I am listening to a podcast by Sam Harris titled The Paradox of Death. Paraphrasing him, he says, ‘One thing you can be certain of is that today you are one day closer to death than you were yesterday’. He goes on to say that you can be totally depressed about that thought, or you can turn it around and realize how valuable every moment is.
There is so much we have to be thankful for. So many people we value and appreciate. Do we share (enough) time with them? Do we tell them they are appreciated? Do we worry too much about things that probably won’t ever happen? Do we appreciate the time we have left?
If I were only going to live for 50 more minutes, would the people I leave behind know what I thought of them? If I was going to live for only 50 more days, who would I spend my time with, and why am I not making more of an effort now? And if I lived for 50 more years, would I want to look back and see a life of gratitude or a life of unfilled and unfulfilled moments?
We are all one day closer. We all have the opportunity to cherish the time we have… or squander it.
