For those of you not familiar with country music, Tim McGraw has a song entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." It makes me cry. (This isn't saying a whole lot in and of itself since almost everything has the ability to make me cry.) The narrator is talking to a guy who is telling him about the day he discovered he had cancer and the question posed to him is, "man, what'd you do?" His answer is:
I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.
The final chorus substitutes "watched an eagle as it was flying" for "gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
The reason this particular song makes me cry is that I've actually DONE some of these things. I've been skydiving. I've been Rocky Mountain climbing. I've watched an eagle as it was flying. I've done things that other people only dream of. That realization is at once humbling and inspiring.
When I was in college, I spent a month in London studying drama. I've swum with dolphins, slept in hammocks in the Mexican jungle, taken trapeze lessons, and owned my own business (more of a nightmare than a dream, but that's another story! The point is we took the chance and did it.). I own a house in Hawaii, and later this year, my husband and I are going to take a tree climbing course inspired by the stories of the scientists who spend their time exploring the upper canopies of the redwood forests in The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring.
So, I have 2 questions for you:
1) What have you done that others only dream of?
2) What would you put on your list to do to live like you were dying?
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