If Today Was Your Last Day To Be Alive, How Would You Show Up?

Grandmaster Kim asks us to focus on this question every morning as we begin our meditation practice. It’s truly a powerful question. Can you imagine how you would show up if you knew y’all had 24 hours to live? How would you live out the day? Now most would want to call certain people, maybe do certain things or experience some cool activities, or spend time with loved ones. I am sure that’s what most would want to do, right? However, how would you show up as a parent, spouse, friend, business professional or human? What words or advice would you give your kids or clients? How would you want to be remembered??

I recently gave a book to one of the college students I mentor here in Charleston. It’s an older book that I had in my office library, called, “The last lecture”. I read this book a while back and during my talk and tea with my mentee, Dylan… I thought of it and gave it to him to borrow. It had a profound impact on him. Why? Because he was in a serious skateboarding accident and hit his head. Dylan was in coma and the doctors told his parents that he may not survive and if he did, he would potentially have some serious brain damage and not function as a normal twenty year old again. Dylan is doing great and is a thriving young man, but he has a different perspective on life and sees each day as a gift. Our conversations are focused on who he wants to become, what kind of impact he wants to leave on the world. I asked him to begin to put his mindset around this concept of living each day to the fullest and treating each day as if it was his last. He gets it and doesn’t take it for granted because of his experience. I pray that none of us have to go through traumatic experience like Dylan to realize how to show up each day. So, how will you show up today?