I know you've heard the question "What would you do if you only had one week left to live?" Sure, everyone has their own special list of activities if they could plan their last days. But then you've got the list of typical "live like you were dying" actiivities: skydiving, traveling, spending time with family/friends, etc.
A week isn't much time. If someone told me that I could plan on dying next Thursday, I'm not sure I'd have enough time to do everything I wanted to do. Of course, I could get some ideas from one of my favorite books: 2,001 Things to Do Before You Die by Dane Sherwood. No, the title's not one bit misleading. This book is indeed a giant list of things to do before you die. Some of my favorites:
- Call heads and tails.
- Hold up an attention-getting sign outside the "Today Show" window.
- Shatter the glass ceiling.
- Skate the lead in the Ice Capades.
- Survive.
- Debate deconstructionism, Sartre, objectivism, and the definition of art, preferably in a smoky cafe.
- Drink mulled wine on a snowy night in Prague.
- Lie naked on a wide open field beneath a brilliant moon.
- Claim you were at Woodstock.
- Bake brownies.
- Meet the love of your life's ex, and shake his or hand and say "thank you."
- Attend a Star Trek convention.
It was a joke for a while (and a morbid one, I'll admit) that I didn't want to live past 30-- that way, I could live a healthy young life and I would never have to grow old. And don't worry, Mom. I don't joke about this anymore. I'm hoping for much more than an additional 7 years.
It might be somewhat easy to decide how to spend your last 7 days on the earth. However, what if you were told you had exactly 7 years left to live? That might change things. It's an interesting twist on the classic question. Sure, there are plenty of things you could do in 7 years... but would you want to? What would be worth it? Might some things be a waste of time?
For example, you could easily get a college degree in less than 7 years. But if you're not going to be able to use it, what's the point? Some people might see it as a worthless investment of time. Another example: 7 years should certainly give you enough time to plan a wedding and be married. But you might ask yourself-- Is that selfish? Some would call it unfair [to your significant other] to have such a short-lived relationship. Is it fair to develop feelings for someone, have him/her feel the same way about you, and nurture the relationship together, only to see it end in just a few years' time? Imagine marrying someone, knowing you'd be losing them in less than 10 years. It seems incredibly unfair. In a similar sense, 7 years is definitely enough time to spawn-- and more than once, too! However... is it right to bring someone into the world, knowing that you'll be leaving him/ her in just a few years? What about your job? Would you continue to work? Do you think you'd get bored otherwise? You've got some time yet... and those bills aren't going to pay themselves for the next 7 years.
How would you even begin to separate those things that are worth it from the things that aren't?" Suddenly all these rules come into effect when you're playing the "live like you're dying" game.
Think about what you would do if you had 7 days left to live. Climb Pike's Peak? Go whitewater rafting? Eat nothing but Ramen noodles and French toast?
What if you had 7 months left to live? Would you still work? How far/often would you travel? Would you go somewhere remote and just find peace and quiet for your 7 remaining months?
Million-dollar question: what would you do if you found out you had 7 years left to live? Would it make a difference in how you were living? What would you do? What wouldn't you do?
(For the record, I'm going to try and beat this into my acquaintances' brains one last time: I don't want to die before I'm 30 years old. How will I ever build a Post-It note castle in 7 years? I'll need at least 8 more years.)
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