Today I want to send you a reminder. A reminder that this precious thing we call life is short and can be taken away from us at any moment… I’m writing this only a few hours after I was reminded of just that. Woah heavy, I know, but let me rewind a bit…
One of my boyfriend’s best friends was passing through Hong Kong for business. So they caught up today, had lunch, came out to see our new place and enjoyed some of the beautiful nature HK has to offer. Being a good friend, Khrist (my boyfriend) offered to lend his bike for his friend drive back into the city, to save him the long commute on public transport or the expensive taxi fare – I mean, they used to live together in HK and would drive each other’s bikes all the time. Cut to five minutes after we say good bye and safe travels, Khrist gets a call from his friend who was lying on the road- notorious for crashes and taking lives. He had had a head on collision with a car at full speed, forgetting he was in HK and driving on the European side of the road.
The car looked like it had wrapped it’s self around a fairly large tree, the bike- in pieces and absolutely totalled. His friend- scratched up, bloody and bruised with a broken arm and lucky to be alive and walking away from it.
After the initial shock of it all, we all had profound realisations. While being rushed off to hospital in an ambulance, one of the first things Khrist’s friend said to him was “I saw my whole life in 1 second” (probably somewhere between the impact, being flung 3 meters up into the air and hitting the ground) and that he’d go and see his parents after not having spoken to them for 6 months. It was for sure a wake-up call, he knew he got lucky and instantly realised the important things in life.
Khrist – Not a care about his forever gone piece of metal (or pieces of metal I should now say) and grateful that his best friend is alive – he still can’t believe he’s OK after meeting him at the scene.
I’m sure if you’ve had a near death experience you too have experienced time slowing down in front of you, as your life flashes before your eyes and your thoughts are peacefully taken to the people you care most about. I’ve had it happen, but I was 12 when I had my close call and I still remember it vividly- This is a whole other story though.
I believe that things don’t happen to us, they happen for us and this was a close reminder for us all that life can change at any given moment and that we’re never guaranteed tomorrow or for you loved ones to ever come back home and walk in the door after a day at work again. How often do we take that for granted? Give the quick kiss and routinely ask “how was your day?”
What if we started FEELING every moment with our hearts, holding that kiss 2 extra seconds, that hug a few extra moments and really felt it and said “I love you” with all the love you have in your body. What if you knew life was going to end for you soon? Where would you be? Who would you want to spend time with? What would you say to the people you care about? Are there dreams you’re yet to chase after? Grudges or broken relationships you’d regret not fixing before you died? Answer these questions to yourself and DO THOSE THINGS. As cliché as it sounds, live every day as if it were your last – how much more beautiful and meaningful would life be if we did that?
We don’t all have to have a near death experience to realise this. Let the lessons of someone else be a reminder to you now- that life is short, precious and will inevitably end for us all one day. How you choose to live your days will be the difference between you in your last moments feeling fulfilled, peaceful and happy you’ve lived a meaningful life Vs you feeling remorse and having regrets on your deathbed.
START TODAY because in this life you only have one life, so stop taking everything and everyone for granted and make it count! Go chase after that thing you’ve always wanted to do, get healthy, worry less about material things and what people think of you, don’t sweat the small stuff, forgive, make the decision to be happy, tell someone you love them, sincerely tell the people you love how much they mean to you and start living and feeling life FULLY before it changes, because it will – The only constant is change.
This life is a gift! So be grateful that you get to wake up every day and create the life you want.