I recently had a lovely gal come in who shared with me that she was given 3 to 5 months to live…and I have to admit that I choked back tears while she had a smile on her face and non-chalantly spoke of her grim future.
I spent the entirety of our next 15 minutes together working my damndest to make her smile. I complimented her sparkly earrings that perfectly matched the broach that perfectly adorned the bright pink turban-y hat that perfectly covered her head of what I can only assume was covering an imperfect head of hair. I admired her beautifully painted toes. I asked her about her tattoos. I joked. I praised. I listened.
All the while she sat calmly soaking it in: responding with such grace and wit. She seemed so attuned to herself and the world…it was enviable.
So here’s my question: why don’t I start treating everyone like they have months left? Truth of the matter is, a perfectly healthy person next to me could have days or even hours. Shouldn’t the last moments we have with people be those of laughter, praise, and positivity?
And on the flip side—who knows when it’s my turn to kick the bucket? (I hope I have many more years to watch my littles grow…and torment my husband…but let’s be real.) And when I think about it, I really want my last moments to be calm…soaking up every beautiful thing this world has given me. I want to laugh. I want to be witty. I don’t want my last moments to be the shit-show daily grind of rushing here or squeezing a quick phone call/text/email/Facebook stalk in there or a short-fuse moment with my babies or a bickering match with my hubby…I picture something SO much better for my last moments in my mind.
Alas…here’s my proposal for a better, kinder world…and maybe even world flippin’ peace. What if we A) treated everyone like they were dying and B) took the (ever handsome) Tim McGraw’s advice and lived like we were dying.
Can you imagine how differently conversations would go? How much more tolerant we would be? Kinder? Now that’s a world I want my babies to grow up in.
Potential problem: everyone has to participate…cause the second some twit comes in being rude to my staff and tapping their foot at me cause their world is superior to ours. Well, then that goes and switches it up…and makes me think other things about death. (Calm down! I’m joking…or am I?)
So let’s go out there and make it real. Make people laugh. Wear your sparkly earrings. Listen. Be funny. Be witty. Be calm. Be engaged. Let’s make this world (or at least our world) just a bit better.