What if this was the end?

via

Let me make one thing clear before I get started, this post is light hearted and in no way meant to be taken seriously. In fact, in my opinion; I should rarely be taken seriously at all.

Everyone is going on and on about how the world will end tomorrow. I was originally going to write a post about how this was silly and how there is no evidence (nor has there ever been) that this is true. But NASA already did that for me in this video.

Instead today, I would like to go in a different direction. I would like to talk about what I would do if the world really WAS going to end tomorrow. What I would say. What I would feel.

I think we can all agree that when trauma or tragedy occurs in our lives or in the lives of others, we ALL say the same thing. We say "this kind of thing makes you want to make the most of each day" or something like that. I love that we, as humans, do that. I think "wow, we've got something great here on this earth if we can view things that way". I know there are some who tragically let these setbacks and heartaches keep them from getting "back on the horse" but, as a majority, we are extremely resilient. Together, we carry each other through.

If I knew for certain that tomorrow was going to be the end of it all, I certainly wouldn't be at work. I would be with my family, that's a given. Would we be laughing? Would we appreciate that we could all be together for it? Would my parents be thinking of their parents and their siblings and their whole lives? Would they be sad that my sister and I are so young or would they be happy that we lived as long as we did?

I know that I feel, even if time were to go on forever, that at this point in my life I can say that I am peaceful. Maybe I'm not the happiest or most calm person in the world, but I feel capable. I feel like I have the tools I need for any situation. I trust myself. And I trust that if I was told that there would be no tomorrow, I could find a way to make the best of what was left.

I would call people and tell them that I loved them and that even if we had grown apart, I was happy to know them. I would tell people how important they are. How much they matter. I would tell all of those close to me how my life wouldn't have been the same without their laughter or their tears or their anger or their strength.

We have been given such an amazing gift, being alive and experiencing this time and this place. In the past 50 years, this world has changed and advanced so radically that it hardly seems possible. We have learned so much and come so far and I feel beyond blessed to have benefited from all of it. Thanks to technology, I have spoken to more people in my 22 years than anyone did in a lifetime during centuries past. I have been exposed to the light of others and the dark as well and I have made my choices and learned from my mistakes.

So if I had to sum all of my feelings up into one word today it would be Lucky. I feel lucky to know what love is, lucky to know was heartbreak is, lucky to know what it's like to laugh until my stomach hurts, lucky to know how fresh cut cedar smells, lucky to know how it feels when people come through for me, lucky to know what hard work means, lucky to know what the love of the best parents in the world feels like, lucky to know true friendship and true trust and above all lucky to have lived.

What do you feel lucky for? What would you do today if the world was to end tomorrow?