LIVING WHILE WE'RE ALIVE

"Our concern must be to live while we're alive ... to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

One of my favorite books in my teens and twenties - a book I re-read several times and whose title and author is buried somewhere in my latent memory - is about an colorless, dutiful, compliant and unappreciated 30-year-old who is mistakenly told by a cardiologist that her heart will keep beating for less than a year. She decides that, since there will be no long-term consequences, she can say what she thinks and do what she wants. From that point on, her life becomes meaningful because it is a life she chooses on a day-to-day basis, doing the things that are important to her, however crazy and illogical they may seem. As it turns out, she doesn't die on schedule and she faces long-term consequences after all, but they just add to the spice of the adventure.

When I am stuck in my life, I ask myself what I would do today if I knew that I had only three months to live. This is an amazingly effective exercise for finding out what I long for at the deepest level of myself. What do I really need? Fame? Fortune? More toys? A spousal upgrade? None of those things mean much when there is only a short time available to enjoy them.

What I really want usually turns out to be something quite simple and do-able: resting, expressing my creativity, trying something new, and sharing my love. The abundant life isn't an exotic plant on a mountain top; it's an everyday herb that grows in our own garden.

There are lots of real-life stories about people who discover life in the shadow of death. Surely we could all do likewise, even if we don't have a documented terminal disease! Are we so perverse that we prefer the impossible dream to the riches that cry to be enjoyed here and now?

Many years ago, a friend presented me with one of her paintings. "A peace offering," she said. "A peace offering?" I asked. "We're not at war!" She grinned and said, "Why wait until the last minute?"

Learn more about this author, Christine G..
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