Imagine you have one minute to live, and after that nothing.
What thoughts would occupy your mind during that minute?
What memories would you recall?
As you watched the second hand move inevitably towards the end of the minute, what precious images would your mind hold on to?
I tried this mental exercise a few days ago whilst on a flight, and experienced one of the most memorable minutes of my life. As the clock “struck twelve” I had tears in my eyes – not from sadness at it coming to an end, but from gratitude at the wonderful people that are in my life, and the most amazing life that I have the privilege of living. For me it highlighted those things that are really important… and those things that don’t really matter.
Perhaps we regularly need a “Memorable Minute” to keep our lives in focus.
Neil,
I liked this post, very much.
I’ve never tried to imagine what the last minute of my own life might be like, but as a doctor I have spent a lot of time contemplating a patient’s last moment or thought or breath.
I have found that people who have lived richly and fully, and truly accepted and embraced life, go into their final moments with an enviable quiet grace and dignity – leading me to believe that it is true what they say: “we die as we lived.”
Thanks for the thought,
Libby
Libby
Thanks for the comment.
I hope I learn some of that grace and dignity you talk about. It’s so difficult to come to terms with our own mortality, especially when life is so… amazing.
Neil