Live like you are dying...
Images to help you love today.
https://freedomain.com/
Images to help you love today.
https://freedomain.com/
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00I'd like you to sort of think about your life, and I'd like you to sort of fast forward, right?
00:06Just scroll forward all the way to the end of it, right?
00:09We're all living biological-based organisms.
00:12Forget for a moment whether there's life after death, whether there's God,
00:16whether you float up into the arms of Jesus, on the wings of the angels, anything.
00:19Forget about that if you don't mind, just for the moment.
00:22And let's just say that the end of your life is not going to be a pleasant and look-forward-to kind of experience.
00:28So I'd like to just sort of fast-forward you to the end
00:33and give you a sort of mental exercise to help you maybe appreciate even more
00:38the kind of stuff that you have in your life right now.
00:41So let's just go on that white train to the end of life, and you're in a hospital bed,
00:45and you were rushed there in some manner or for some reason,
00:49and you are now being told by your doctor that pretty much this is a one-way hospital bed, right?
00:57Basically, it's a hospital bed.
00:58It's going to open up, drop you into the grave, and they're going to throw dirt in your face,
01:03cover you up, and you will live only on in memories of people, photos, and I guess maybe the odd video cast.
01:11So you've just been told, and you know statistically what it's going to be,
01:15and even if you take care of yourself, it's going to be cancer, it's going to be a heart disease,
01:18or something like that.
01:19That something is going to put you in that situation where you realize that you're not getting back out of this one.
01:26This is kind of it.
01:29Now, I just want you to sort of think about that for a moment, if you don't mind.
01:33Just think about that.
01:35Now, I'm 39 years old, so with any luck, I'm a little shy of halfway through my life,
01:42and I'm not sure how old you are, assuming you're not already on your deathbed,
01:46then this will still be of relevance to you.
01:49Now, I want you to think about, if you don't mind,
01:51think about what it's going to be like when you're 85 years old, 95,
01:56however old it's going to be, when it's going to happen.
01:58We know it's going to happen.
01:59We don't know when.
01:59Think about how you would feel if somebody gave you the option or the possibility
02:08to go back in time 40 years.
02:13So you're 85 years old, let's say.
02:16For me, it would be, let's say I die at 85.
02:18Somebody's going to say to me,
02:19Steph, for a certain amount of money,
02:21I'm going to give you the chance to go back 46 years to be 39 again.
02:26Now, can you imagine what an incredible thing that would be?
02:30What an incredible offer that would be at the end of your life,
02:35to be offered to be returned to health and vitality and youth,
02:39and with all the decades and possibilities ahead of you.
02:41Can you imagine what an incredible, exciting, mind-blowingly generous gift that would be?
02:47Can you think if there's anything that you wouldn't give,
02:51that you wouldn't give to get those four or five or six decades back
02:55and have the ultimate do-over in your life?
02:59I would give anything,
03:00because you're facing the black wall,
03:02the drop-off, the fiery waterfall into nothing of death.
03:06To be given the opportunity to come back in time
03:08to where you are right now would be the most incredible gift.
03:12And what would you not give for that?
03:14I would give anything.
03:16I would give arms, eyesight, two kidneys,
03:18I'll stay in a dialysis machine,
03:19I'll have a colostomy, whatever.
03:22It doesn't matter to me,
03:23because I'll be alive rather than dead.
03:26Now, I'm not sort of saying this to sort of freak you out about your own mortality,
03:30though it's not a bad thing to think about from time to time,
03:32and it helps make being alive sort of more rich, more wonderful.
03:37But let's just say that we're at the same age,
03:40I'm 39 years old, as I mentioned.
03:42Now, what would be the most incredible gift at the end of my life
03:49would be to come back to where I am right now
03:52with youth and health and vitality and fitness and possibilities
03:57and all of these wonderful things.
04:00That would be the most incredible gift
04:01that someone could give to me at the end of my life.
04:04And it would be the same thing for you as well.
04:06It would be the most incredible gift
04:08that anyone could give you at the end of your life
04:10to come back to where you are right now.
04:14Now, this is sort of what I'm trying to get at here.
04:19This thing that would be the most incredible gift
04:21for you to get in the future,
04:23that you would give anything to receive
04:24while hanging on the thin thread of life
04:27over the chasm of death.
04:31What would be the most incredible gift?
04:33What you would weep with joy
04:35to have a chance to receive even for one day,
04:38let alone for the next four or five decades.
04:41This thing called youth and health, possibility.
04:45You already have it right now.
04:48What it would be the most incredible gift
04:49at the end of your life.
04:51You are living every day of your life right now.
04:57Because at the end of your life,
04:59you're going to get that sit down from the doctor
05:02and you're going to hear those faithful words
05:04with any luck, right?
05:06Hoping you're not in some terrible accident tomorrow.
05:09But you're going to get those faithful words from the doctor
05:12and the doctor's going to sit down very nice and gentle
05:14and say,
05:15you know,
05:17all we can do right now
05:19is to make you as comfortable as possible.
05:22I think about this actually,
05:23sometimes when I see an ambulance going past,
05:29I think,
05:30I mean,
05:30not always,
05:31but sometimes I can't help but think
05:33that one day
05:34that ambulance is going to be for me.
05:38And one day,
05:39that ambulance is going to be for you.
05:41And it's a one-way trip.
05:44Right?
05:44Your TV is going to be left on,
05:45your dinner is going to be half uneaten,
05:47and you're not coming back to clean up.
05:49That's going to be for your next of kin,
05:50whoever.
05:51But one day,
05:53right,
05:53that ambulance is going to come from us.
05:55That knee-haw-knee-haw,
05:56it's going to come from us,
05:57for us,
05:58and we're not going to come back.
05:59It's a one-way trip.
06:00Because it's all a one-way trip to the grave
06:02for us living beings,
06:04right?
06:04That's why we envy rocks from tongue to tongue.
06:08Or animals that don't have a strong sense
06:09of their own mortality.
06:11So,
06:12I'd just sort of like to
06:13say to you that
06:15what would be an incredible gift for you
06:17later on in life
06:18to be able to come back
06:19and be where you are right now,
06:21even if you're 70,
06:22even if you're 84,
06:23to get another year of life
06:25when you're hanging on the edge of death
06:27would be...
06:28I mean,
06:29you couldn't ask for anything more.
06:31But what would be such an incredible gift
06:33in the future
06:34is already available to you
06:35right now,
06:36in the present.
06:37You're living
06:37the most incredible gift
06:39that any human being can have,
06:40which is life and vitality.
06:42So that's sort of the first thing
06:43that I would say
06:44that is a way of really appreciating
06:46and enjoying
06:47what you have right now,
06:50understanding
06:51that if you were to be given it
06:52in the future,
06:53it would be the most amazing,
06:54unbelievable gift.
06:55and that we should really,
06:57really try and appreciate
06:58every day of our life.
06:59And when you die,
07:01you turn to dust,
07:02you don't get to feel the breeze,
07:03you don't get to climb stairs,
07:04you don't get to go to the gym
07:05or see a movie
07:06or make love to your wife
07:07or to your husband,
07:08you don't get any of those things.
07:09You don't care
07:09because you're gone.
07:10I'm just talking about
07:11the time before
07:11while you're still conscious
07:12of what you could have
07:13if somebody gave you
07:14the life that you have right now.
07:16So I'm just trying to say
07:17really, really try and appreciate
07:19the life that you have right now.
07:21So that's sort of the first way
07:24of approaching it.
07:26Now,
07:27the second way of looking
07:28at something like this
07:29to make it a little bit less like,
07:32you know,
07:32five, six decades
07:33in the future maybe,
07:35another way of looking at this
07:36that can be quite powerful
07:37is, you know,
07:39you go for a checkup
07:40to your doctor
07:41and he gives you
07:44a call back
07:45the next week
07:47or whatever
07:47up here in Canada.
07:49It's like six months.
07:50So he gives you a call back
07:51and he says,
07:51oh boy,
07:52Steph,
07:53I am so sorry
07:54to have to tell you this.
07:55My friend,
07:56you have leukemia
07:58and you really are not
07:59going to have much luck.
08:00There's no treatment for it.
08:01There's no possibility
08:02of bypassing this.
08:04You are
08:05out of luck.
08:09Okay,
08:10well,
08:10I mean,
08:10imagine if put that
08:11into the wood chipper
08:13of your mental processes
08:14and let that blend through
08:15for a little bit,
08:15what's going to fall out?
08:17Just imagine
08:17that you get that call,
08:19you get that diagnosis
08:20and you have
08:21not decades,
08:22not years,
08:23not even months,
08:24but weeks
08:25to live.
08:26What is that going to do
08:27to your thinking
08:28about how you're spending
08:29your time?
08:30What is that going to have you do
08:32regarding what you thought
08:33that you spent,
08:34how you spent your time
08:35last night
08:35or last week
08:36or last month
08:37or how you're going to
08:37spend your time tomorrow
08:38or the day after?
08:39I'm not saying that
08:40you've got to live
08:42like every day
08:42is your last.
08:43That's a cliche
08:43and it's not very possible
08:44and neither would it be
08:45as sensible to do that.
08:47But what I am saying
08:49is that
08:50it is a gift,
08:51right?
08:51I mean,
08:52every day that we have a life
08:53and that we're healthy
08:53is a gift.
08:54And yes,
08:54we all get migraines,
08:55we stub our toes
08:56and this and that.
08:56So I'm not saying that,
08:57you know,
08:57you live on this perfect cloud
08:58lying magic carpet
08:59all the time.
09:00But when you start
09:01to look at the stressors
09:02in your life
09:03and the problems
09:03in your life
09:04and what it is
09:04that people making your life
09:05difficult problems
09:06at work
09:06and this and that
09:07and the other,
09:07you know,
09:08there is a larger perspective
09:09that I'm sort of
09:10trying to communicate to you
09:11with these mental exercises
09:12that can really help you
09:13appreciate
09:14and love
09:16much more
09:17the time that you have
09:18and the richness that you have,
09:19the youth,
09:19the vitality,
09:20the health,
09:20the energy,
09:21all of this sort of stuff
09:21that you have.
09:23Now,
09:23you get this diagnosis
09:24and you live with it
09:26for a night
09:26and you live with it
09:27for a day
09:28and you live with it
09:29for another night
09:29and you're sort of
09:30planning your funeral,
09:32you're looking at your kids
09:33realizing everything
09:34that you're not going
09:34to see around them,
09:35everything that's to do
09:36with your life,
09:37you are really re-examining
09:39in a way
09:40that's completely different
09:40from anything
09:41which came before.
09:44Well,
09:45now imagine
09:47the following situation
09:48that your doctor
09:50phones you up
09:50the next day
09:51and says,
09:52oh my God,
09:52I can't believe this,
09:53I don't even know
09:54what to say,
09:54please don't sue me.
09:56But,
09:56there's another guy
09:58with your exact same name,
09:59the files got mixed up,
10:01he's the one
10:01who's dying,
10:02you're perfectly healthy.
10:02I mean,
10:05just imagine that,
10:06imagine that,
10:07imagine what that would do
10:08to your appreciation
10:10of everything
10:11that you have
10:12right now
10:13and everything
10:14that's to come,
10:14everything that you have
10:15right now.
10:16Imagine
10:17what that news,
10:18that false diagnosis
10:19of imminent death
10:21would do
10:21to your appreciation
10:23when that sentence
10:24was lifted.
10:25Wouldn't that be
10:26the most incredible thing?
10:27Wouldn't you wake up
10:28and hug everybody
10:29and just feel
10:30overjoyed
10:31at living?
10:32And yes,
10:33that will fade,
10:34they say it's about
10:34two months and so on,
10:35but there's ways
10:36of keeping it alive
10:37for yourself,
10:38there's ways of keeping
10:38that appreciation
10:39alive for yourself
10:40that are quite powerful.
10:42So,
10:43just try that
10:44as a mental exercise.
10:45You're going to die,
10:46the reprieve comes,
10:47and you are allowed
10:48to live again.
10:49How much would you
10:50enjoy the feel
10:51of sunlight on your face?
10:52How much would you
10:53enjoy the little things?
10:54How much would you
10:55be subject to all
10:56the little days
10:57irritations
10:58and grumblings
11:00and mental distractions
11:01and road rages
11:02and this and that?
11:03Yeah,
11:03it's not going to
11:03make your life perfect,
11:04it's not like you're
11:05going to saunter off
11:05into the sunset
11:06on a cloud
11:06of lithium pleasure,
11:07but it is going
11:09to mean that
11:09you can appreciate
11:11what you have
11:12just that little bit more,
11:13and really that's
11:14a very powerful thing
11:15to do.
11:16Alright,
11:16number three.
11:18Number three
11:19is to look at it
11:20this way.
11:22Imagine that
11:23you get the news,
11:24you get the phone call
11:25which says,
11:26this is officer
11:28so-and-so,
11:29I regret to inform you
11:32that your wife
11:33has been involved
11:33in a fatal car crash,
11:35or your husband
11:35has been involved,
11:36or your child,
11:37your mommy,
11:37whoever it is
11:38that you really love
11:39has been involved
11:40in a fatal car crash,
11:42and would you come down
11:43and identify the body
11:44and so on and so on
11:45and so on,
11:45right?
11:45So,
11:46imagine how that
11:47would hit you,
11:48imagine what a split
11:49that is going to be
11:50in your life.
11:51Imagine you think
11:51your life's gone one way,
11:53bam,
11:53out of nowhere,
11:54right?
11:55Life is a constant
11:56series of sudden scythes,
11:57right?
11:57I mean,
11:58death is omnipresent.
12:00Your life just takes
12:01a complete turn,
12:02and everything
12:02that you treasure
12:03about that relationship
12:04is now gone,
12:05never to return.
12:08And you live with that
12:09for an hour,
12:10I'm not going to give you
12:11some dramatic scenario
12:13where you go down
12:13to identify the body,
12:14and it's a fat trucker
12:16named Bert or something,
12:17we'll just talk about,
12:18you get another phone call
12:18where it's like,
12:19mistaken identity,
12:21your wife lent her wallet
12:23to this person who died
12:24and blah,
12:25and she's fine.
12:26I mean,
12:27what a,
12:27I mean,
12:29what an incredible relief
12:30that would be for you,
12:32I mean,
12:32to know that you face
12:34this future
12:35without the person
12:36in your life
12:37that you love the most,
12:38without your central
12:38core relationship.
12:40To see that black hole
12:41that was going to be
12:42your future,
12:43that black chasm
12:44of loss
12:45and loneliness
12:47and missing somebody
12:50with your whole being,
12:51then to find out
12:51that they were alive
12:53and that was not
12:53going to be your future.
12:56Wouldn't that be
12:56the most incredible thing?
12:58Wouldn't that be
12:58the most amazing thing?
12:59Wouldn't you just want to
13:00run into that person's eyes
13:01and tell them everything?
13:02Or maybe you tell them
13:03everything already,
13:04but wouldn't you just
13:05appreciate that person
13:06in a way that would be
13:07so hard to imagine?
13:09Because,
13:10I mean,
13:11all of these things
13:11are possible.
13:12We all know people
13:13who've had this occur to them,
13:14or at least we've read about it.
13:16These things are all possible,
13:18and they're all inevitable.
13:20Everybody we love,
13:20we're going to lose.
13:21Everybody who loves us
13:22is going to lose us.
13:23We are going to lose ourselves,
13:25and we're going to lose the world.
13:27The world is going to end for us.
13:29So,
13:30what does that mean
13:31relative to having
13:32all of these things
13:32that you have right now?
13:33Imagine that
13:34you lost everything.
13:36You lost your job,
13:37you lost your house,
13:37you lost your family,
13:38you lost whatever,
13:39you had some terrible occurrence,
13:41and then you got them all back.
13:42How would you feel?
13:43How would you feel
13:44about having those things
13:45back in your life?
13:47How do you feel now,
13:48maybe thinking about
13:49bouncing forward to the future
13:50and sending out a sonar,
13:51like a bat or a submarine
13:52or something,
13:53sending out a sonar
13:54for the future,
13:54having it bounce back
13:55to see how much
13:57you would give
13:57at the end of your life
13:58to be right back
13:59where you are right now,
14:01and have all the possibilities
14:02and all the health
14:02and the vitality,
14:03the energy
14:03ahead of you.
14:06But that's what we should enjoy.
14:08That's what we should
14:09take as an incredible gift
14:11every day.
14:11It's in my mind,
14:12if you don't mind me saying so.
14:13And I'm trying to talk
14:14about personal liberty here,
14:15personal happiness.
14:17Yeah, we've got problems
14:17with the government.
14:18Yeah, we've got problems
14:19with this, that, and the other.
14:20But what we do have right now
14:22is the greatest gift,
14:23what we would give anything to,
14:25to have back at the end
14:26of our lives.
14:27And that's really
14:27a very powerful thought
14:30or imagination process
14:31to go through.
14:32And that's sort of
14:32what I would like to share
14:33with you as a way
14:34that helped me
14:34really become more,
14:37really helped me live
14:41more richly and more deeply
14:42and with a greater appreciation
14:43of the days that we have.
14:45Because, I mean,
14:46they're going to end, right?
14:47I mean, they're absolutely
14:48going to end one day.
14:50The people we love
14:51are going to slide off
14:51into the night of death.
14:53We are going to slide
14:54after them.
14:55And there's going to be
14:56some period of time,
14:57very likely,
14:58quite a considerable period
14:59of time,
14:59weeks, months, or years,
15:00where we know
15:02that it's going to happen.
15:03We know that it's going to end.
15:05We know that our life
15:06is going to end.
15:08What would we give
15:09to be back where we are
15:10right now?
15:11What would we give
15:12to be back where we are
15:13with all the possibilities
15:14and the health
15:15that we have right now?
15:16We would give anything.
15:17Anything.
15:19So if it's something
15:20you would give anything for,
15:22I think you should
15:24really enjoy it now
15:25while you have it.
15:26We'll see you next time.
15:28We'll see you next time.
15:29We'll see you next time.