If you had only one year?

If you had only one year to live...what would you do with that time?

I thought of this question when I was running yesterday. It was a gorgeous run, just around dusk. The weather was so warm that it almost felt like spring! I ran past Gyro beach, one of the local beaches and stopped there to stretch for a few minutes by the water. It was gorgeous. Calm. Peaceful. Absolutely quiet. There was not a ripple on the water.

It reminded me of the cabin at the beach.

While I was stretching, I thought about what I would do (differently) if I had only one year to live. (To clarify, the concept of dying was NOT at all what this question was about....the question and my inspiration was to think about what I would do differently given the concept of time being finite.)

As I was running, I thought about what I would really love to do with the year....
- I would go home for a few weeks and hang out at the cabin with Mom and Don. And go fishing with them. Watch the sunsets over the water. Sit by the fire at night.
- Then I'd go on a road trip and visit all my brothers and sisters for a few weeks
- make time to connect with special friends and "soul-sisters" in my life
- I'd take my guitar everywhere on these trips and learn to play it better
- Oh, I would also get rid of all the stuff I've accumulated in my life/garage/etc. (The de-cluttering project continues...and it's been wonderful to "clean house" and give clothes and items away!) Very free-ing! I can't wait to get into that garage when the weather warms up a bit.
- I'd go travelling with people I love...see the world...travel to the little villages in the middle of Central and South America, Africa, The Maldives, Fiji... take photos, sit with the people, laugh, journal, play the guitar and enjoy the simplist of moments.
- I'd also live with abandon. And love with abandon. Not worry what anyone else thinks. Say what I really feel. Run every day. And take people with me on those runs - to share in the joy of it all. I run alone most of the time...if I had only one year...I'd invite others to run with me and together, we'd laugh, talk, look around at the amazing place we live...and then, hopefully go for a coffee/muffin or tea after the run. I love that part. Especially on weekend mornings...a good run and then a good coffee with friends.
- I'd eat really well and invite others to come over for dinner more. And make an experience out of it all...go for picnic's, take the little BBQ to the beach, simple things...
- I'd find a way to make a difference and inspire others to use their gifts and talents to do the same. Yes, I'd spend much of that year living my life in a way that I hope would inspire others...and make my mom proud.
- And I'd find something to laugh about every day. Several times a day.

I shared this question, "If you had only one year to live, what would you do?" with a few friends.

The question then became..."well...if this is what we would do if we had only one year to live...why would we not do exactly that...if we had longer to live?"

Good question!