Live like you were dying

He said: "I was in my early forties,
"With a lot of life before me,
"An' a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"I spent most of the next days,
"Looking at the x-rays,
"An' talking 'bout the options an' talkin’ ‘bout sweet time."
I asked him when it sank in,
That this might really be the real end?
How’s it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man whatcha do?

An' he said: "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."

He said "I was finally the husband,
"That most the time I wasn’t.
"An' I became a friend a friend would like to have.
"And all of a sudden goin' fishin’,
"Wasn’t such an imposition,
"And I went three times that year I lost my Dad.
"Well, I finally read the Good Book,
"And I took a good long hard look,
"At what I'd do if I could do it all again,
"And then:

"I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."

Like tomorrow was a gift,
And you got eternity,
To think about what you’d do with it.
An' what did you do with it?
An' what can I do with it?
An' what would I do with it?

"Sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I watched Blue Eagle as it was flyin'."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."

"To live like you were dyin'."
"To live like you were dyin'."
"To live like you were dyin'."
"To live like you were dyin'."

Even if you are not a country music fan then just read the words, they could change your life.

A friend and I were talking the other day.... oh you know the usual topics like... the crap they put into the stuff we eat (or should we say the stuff they want us to eat,) what we do to our bodies, modern medicine, etc., when we realized that out of the 4 adults in that house, all under 35, only one of us would be alive today without modern medicine. Two of us would have died from cancer, and the other the during childbirth.

So this is coming from one of those who would have died from cancer. My situation although a bit unique and almost an after-thought of "hey that tumor we removed, yeah, well, it was cancer..." was still life-changing. And now more than 5 years later I still remember that day like it was yesterday.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been revisiting my past in many ways, thinking about those lingering "what-if's" remembering those I have known, loved, lost and those whom have been by my side through it all.

I have recently learned a lot.. about life. About lessons of love, fear, anger, respect, loss, forgiveness, trust, friendship, courage, maturity/youth... I have learned alot about myself. I am a stronger person for that. The road to learning those lessons is not always pleasing, it's a hard long path, but today, knowing what I know now, I am looking forward to the day when I learn more of life's lessons.

I have had some recent healing on a past relationship, I was able to say some things to that person that I regretted not saying before and I found (and said) some things that I didn't even know were in me. I came to terms with feelings I had been avoiding. I gave forgiveness. I chose to remember the best in someone who hurt me. I realized that I can love without being "in-love" and that it's okay to do that. I believe that if you truly love someone you never stop loving them. You can fall out of love with someone, but you do not stop loving them and it's ok to admit that, it's ok to feel that way. I believe that fear should be thrown to the roadside when you care about someone. Honesty in yourself and others is important when it comes to telling someone how you really feel, and what you want & need from them. I have visited the lessons life has taught me thus far and doing so I have become more thankful for the wonderful things I have in my life.

I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying. I have lived like I was dying.

And someday I hope YOU get the chance to live like you were dying.