The “One Year To Live” Exercise
A good friend showed me all the stuff he was involved in. He’s stretched in a hundred directions. Family, multiple business things, church, a couple of charities…more requirements than he has hours to spend.
What stimulated the conversation was two new requests . . . two additional roles. It would be an honor to serve in either one. But two more jobs to do?
We all have different capacities and most of us don’t operate anywhere near full. But somehow we have to sort out what to take on and when to pass.
“What would you do if you just had one year to live?” I asked.
As soon as I uttered the words, they flew back and hit me in the face.
As I’ve pondered the question, here’s what I figured out…for me.
1. I want to spend more time with individuals and less with institutions. Institutions will sustain themselves, with or without me. That is, if they’re supposed to be around years from now. But I have this precious little smidgeon of time to walk on this earth and be with specific individuals. I want to love and be loved. I want to serve those “whom God has given me” and meet their needs. When this life is over, they won’t have any.
2. I want to spend more time with the One who’s going to usher me from this life to the next. He’s familiar with where I’ll be going. He not only knows the way there, He built the place. And He’s the point of it all. I want to know Him, appreciate everything about Him I can pick up on, emulate Him and just plain thank Him….over and over….for adopting me into His family and giving me this God-life, now and from now on.
3. Finally, I want to pursue “my art”. Seth Godin talks about doing what you’re good at…what you love. He points us toward our unique abilities and passions and says “That’s your art”. I want to figure out my “art” and pursue it. God has given me a passion for a few things. A few abilities. It’s up to me to “selectively neglect” things I do just to get make money, or get affirmation, or feel important. If I don’t, I won’t have time or ‘bandwidth’ to fulfill the promise of my life…to let my “art” come out.
I go back to the Thoreau quote we hear half of…“Men lead quiet lives of desperation”
the other half…“and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
What’s your song? If you only had one year to live, what would you do? What would you not do?
What’s your art? Will God get the glory as you sing the song He’s put in you?
Or will you be too busy?
Question : What tough decision would you go ahead and make if you had the urgency of “one year to live”? Comment here.
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Responses (5)
Last night before I went to bed I felt the need to have some focused devotional time. In my prayer time I felt that God was encouraging me to reprioritize some things. With that in mind I pulled out my cell phone and created a new background that reads “If this were my last year…” so each time I pick up my phone I would be reminded of how I want to live each minute. This morning I turn on my phone, see my reminder and then read my email and clicked on the link to this post. When I read the title “THE “ONE YEAR TO LIVE” EXERCISE” I was a little stunned and just shook my head and told God “OK I get it!”
All I can say is Wow!
Remind me not to fly or ride with you next July! …Love your heart Don.
Good Morning Regi, Thank you for your blog – while this is the first time I have commented I am a regular reader even a subscriber.
Your note is confirmation for me on many levels – inspiring. It speaks to me deeply.
And I am more inspired than ever to work on my ‘art’ – hoping it can bring goodness and a reflection of the goodness I am blessed with everyday.
Thank you!
The words McNichol, Lynch and Thrall use in “The Cure” as that “you’re released into your destiny” Godin calls it your “art”. Cool thing is it has to be for free….you can’t sell it, you can only give it away.
Hitting the sweet chord once again, especially for us men. Thank you.