making life GREAT … (03/04/12)
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to fu…ture generations.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
We don’t know when “our time” will come — we don’t know exactly when “the bell will toll” and our lives will end. Maybe we have years left, maybe only a few hours …
And yet, regardless of the particular death that is coming for each of us, there is Purpose to be gleaned from this amazing life … There are Good Deeds waiting to be done, and we do not have to look far to find them. We do not have to wait to get started living a Meaning-full life — we can go forth today and make our lives truly GREAT.
On our deathbeds, we will not be reliving “the good times” of pleasure & comfort we experienced — the times when we had “lots of fun” or “took care of ourselves” or “found adventure”. Rather, we will be soaking deeply in that last moment of conscious awareness — pondering our lives and what we did or didn’t DO with them; regretting the times of sloth & greed when we neglected others in favor of gathering pleasures for ourselves; reveling fully in those times when we displayed the courage to set aside our selfishness to Care for others.
We don’t know how long we have left, but WE CAN all take solace in the fact that every act of Kindness is incredibly powerful — especially those acts of Caring given to strangers and enemies; especially those done when we are “too sad” or “too angry” or “too tired” or “too weak” or “too busy” or “too scared”.
One small act of Kindness instantly transforms a previously meaningless life into one filled with Purpose in that moment — takes a life that was mumbling & stumbling through the malaise of hollow pleasure-gathering and molds it into an existence that literally overflows with Joy & Peace.
One act of Kindness is enough … One act of Caring — today … One simple deed of selfless Love starts that ball rolling towards the greatness that awaits you.
So, go forth and do something Wonder-full today. Even if you do so for only five minutes, live this day as if it is your last …
… it just might be …
So make it a great one!
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