Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying

“Someday, I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.” – Live Like You Were Dying – Tim McGraw.  This song, to almost anyone who takes in its lyrics and really processes them, forces you to take stock of where you are in life.  Its beginnings come from a conversation between Nashville songwriters Tim Nicholas and Craig Wiseman, discussing a mutual friend that had received a misdiagnosis and thought he was dying.  They went on about the two different responses that people had when they got that kind of news in their life, that some people respond that they need to get to living more and others decide to curl up in the fetal position.

Has this happened to you or a loved one?  It has happened to two friends of mine.  One friend came down with brain cancer, the other with liver cancer, each fighting in their own way.  One traveled the globe again, while another chose to take his family to Disney.  One got on stage and spoke to hundreds of people about his condition, the other spent more time with his two young sons, trying to give them what he could of the time he had left.  I urged the one who was a bit more reserved in his approach to do something more public with his situation, to write out his thoughts and feelings and leave a legacy behind.  Little did I know he was in his own way, just not the way I wanted.  They both were right.  They both were living like they were dying because they were or are.  You see, one has been gone for almost two years as of this writing.  The other is still holding on and adding more to his legacy.  Both inspire me to this day in different ways.  Tomorrow is promised to NO ONE.  We’ve seen it with our families, celebrities, and everyone in between.  Take action every day to truly live like you were dying.  Don’t let a moment stop you on a dime because it might just stop you in your tracks without giving you a second chance.  That’s #LyricsToLiveLifeBy.