I heard a great discussion on the radio the other day. It was an interview of a medical doctor, a cancer surgeon by the name of Atul Gawande. He had a great deal to say about his dying patients.
He would do his best to give all the medical options to his dying patient, and then ask them what they wanted to do. The patient would then try to turn the table on him and ask him what he would do if he were in their shoes. He would then reply that he could not make that decision for the patient, because he didn't know and couldn't guess what they were living for. In other words, he turned the table back on the patient by asking the patient what they wanted out of the rest of their life.
What would one more day buy you? What would you do with it? What would give meaning to your life (or to that one more day... if you could live it)?
After listening to this, it occurred to me we are ALL in the patient's situation. We are all dying, albeit in slow motion. We should ALL be asking ourselves what we want out of the rest of our lives.
We should ask ourselves this each and every day when we get out of bed.
It has been said that youth is wasted on the young. I agree. When we are young, most of us pursue all kinds of ridiculous hobbies and past times that consume an enormous amount of time, as if we will live forever.
But what is it that gives your life meaning? What will you do today that will make your life worthwhile?
What do YOU think? Leave a comment!
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