My good friend, humorist and author Loretta La-Roche, teaches ways to enjoy the present moment and live a “juicy life.” To gain direction and stay focused, she recommends writing your own eulogy and epitaph. Thinking about how others will remember you when you’re gone can be powerful motivation to make positive changes today.
To keep your attention (and true to Loretta’s style), she came up with several quirky epitaphs known as the “Tombstone No One Wants.” My favorite one, which has helped me turn off the computer and go for a walk on many a day, is: GOT IT ALL DONE. DEAD ANYWAY.
Carpe diem. Enjoy life while you can, because in spite of all its ordeals and challenges, it’s over much too soon. You will never regret the days you spent walking in the fields, working in the garden, playing with your animal companions, and loving your family and friends. In all the years I’ve listened to dying people share the wisdom from their lives, not once did anyone wish they had spent more time working.
Let your “doing” arise organically from being in the Now. You will get much more done—and with an unparalleled elegance and creative genius—when your work grows from the inspiration that flows through you rather than from the effort of squeezing your own adrenals.
Do whatever it takes to appreciate the wonder of the unique expression of Life that you are. When you can do that, you will live in heaven on Earth.
