Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Live like you were dying

Heard Tim McGraw's 2004 Grammy winning Live like you were dying on the radio this morning. And it made me think about what I'd do if I had a chance to do it all again.

What would I do different?

What would I change?

What would I do if I knew this was the last day of my life?

"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying

And he said one day I hope you get a chance

To live like you were dying
"

What would you do?

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40 Comments:

Blogger That Girl said...

Tim Mcgraw is a hottie.

country music has all the right words... wish it werent so whiny most of the time.


i regret SO MANY things in my life.. id go back and change them all and wack myself over the head if i tried to do them and id say i was sorry to all the people i hurt..

id also tell off the people i was too chicken to tell off.

thats what id do.

id marry my husband all over again.just to relive the first time love.and to see that look in his eyes again.

but im saying this now.

*hugs*...and that says whats on my mind for you as my bloggerbuddy!

10:27 AM  
Blogger karmic said...

I would like to fall in love again with *A* just to experience those heady days again.
That being said I would like to be gentler and kinder and wish for no afflictions of the foot in the mouth thingy..

10:44 AM  
Blogger Tabula Rasa said...

good question.

i'd get stoned and listen to the 3/1/69 dark star > st stephen > the eleven a few times then call up everyone i'd ever loved then seal myself off in a room with a bottle of the best burgundy and spend the last ten hours writing my kerouac-like woolf-like letter to the world.

all this assuming i were alone, of course, and that the world weren't ending along with me. thanks for asking.

12:54 PM  
Blogger Anyesha said...

Tell some people exactly what I think of them and political correctness be damned...yep! that's it...no nice forgiveness stuff here.

1:00 PM  
Blogger Kausum said...

Interesting question was thinking about it a lot.

Initially thought, meet all loved and dear ones, talk to them, be beside them but then it would be harder for me and them to leave each other.

Thought about settling scores etc but it again seemed a waste of precious few hours left in you life.

Also, thought about doing things, I have never done, but didnt appeal much.

Finally, I thought, probably disappear, travel incognito. Just disappear from everyone, forever!

But yet not able to decide

1:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What would you do m? I am thinking of meeting you finally :D

1:11 PM  
Blogger GhostOfTomJoad said...

What would I do? Oh boy! Don't even get me started. Just too many regrets and too many things I'd like to have done differently. *sigh* Maybe I'll come back some other time and write a more coherent response

1:35 PM  
Blogger Terri the terrific said...

(1.) I’ll probably out myself.
(2.) I’ll also eat every trans fatty, carb-laden, artery-clogging, sugary, creamy, greasy, oily treat I can get a hold of.
(3.) I would actually make my bed because I won't be sleeping on it again.

1:54 PM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

@ grafxgurl that was so incredibly sweet. You do all of that. And leave no regrets.
@ karmic_jay oh so guys are such romantics. I'm getting misty eyed just reading the comments. Good for you!
@ tabula rasa no the world isn't ending as far as I know. yet. And you do not necessarily need to be alone in the last hours/days.
@ anyesha ha ha....so you have the "do not forgive" steak in you too?
@ kausum hard question, right? Think you know what is important to you. And then you are confused and you just run away. That is being in denial. Wouldn't you rather be with someone, or do something that fulfils, or change a wrong deed, or make someone realize how much that person meant to you? Think about it.
@ kk you're kidding right?
@ ghostoftomjoad we all live with regrets and I guess the point of this question is making sure that you do not have any. By making the most of every single moment in life. Do come back and tell me when you've had a chance to think about it.
@ terri *lol* you should go do that right away. Have the best time of your life.

3:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nope, dead serious ** a straight face looking up to you ***

3:49 PM  
Blogger Trevor Penn said...

The quote and the responses suggest that most people would like to repair a regret or let go of a fear or something to that effect...

I think i do give the world its fair share and i dont think i would change behaviorally...

If nobody else but me knows that its my last day, i'd spend it with some dear ones giving them memories they'd cherish and do a few things close to my heart...

However, if it's an "open secret", i'd die ahead of time rather than watching myself die every second in the eyes of my loved ones ...

8:30 PM  
Blogger Szerelem said...

id want to travel more!!...the middle east, north africa, the balkans...take the trans siberian railway.....well i really want to do all of that anyway,but still =D

9:51 PM  
Blogger Ratna said...

I would want to hug my kids and never let go until my last breath.

1:25 AM  
Blogger Dadoji said...

If one were to live like one were dying, one still wouldn't have the option to go back and change the past. One could only change things hereafter. That's how I look at it.

In that case,

> To live like you were dying
I already am.

1:42 AM  
Blogger Chilla-Bong said...

Reminds me of the movie "Scent of a Woman" where Al Pacino's character Col. Slade says something like this "I will take the best flight to NY,stay in the best hotel,drink the best wine,sleep with the best woman and then shoot myself in the head...Hoo ha!".

3:23 AM  
Blogger the Monk said...

i have no idea.

6:10 AM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

@ kk you're telling me that the only thing left to do in your life is to unravel the mystery behind some virtual blogging entity? The last thing left for you to do??? nah...your lying with a straight face didn't really work :)
You need to come up with something better than that.
@ seashells well I guess the point is that nobody is saying that you're actually dying. But what would someone do/ change if they believed that they were going to i.e. how would you make the most of your every second every single day. Leaving your loved ones with treasured memories is probably what I would do too. Not painful or sad ones. But something that will sustain a lifetime. Or two. Thanks for sharing.
@ szrelem this actually aims at getting you to realize your priorities in life. So don't push back anything for a better time, brighter day, different situation. Just do it. And you'll love yourself for doing what was important to you.
@ ratna go ahead and do that right now. And that will warm your heart and make every second so worth it.
@ dadoji "I already am" which is just fabulous. And the entire point of this post. Good for you and keep "living" in the best possible way.
@ chilla-bong is that what you would do too? Giving in to the senses, eh? :)
@ the monk well it is a difficult question because it offers so many answers. Deep soul searching I'd say.

9:48 AM  
Blogger jhantu said...

frankly dont know !!

9:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Live life kingsize!
Actually, cliched though it might be, i already do...live it to the fullest!

But if i knew i was going to die today, i'd resign now and go play cricket with the neighbourhood kids in the rain, and after that have "pyaaz ki pakodi" & beer while listening to jagjit singh on replay mode...

11:06 AM  
Blogger Cee Kay said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:52 PM  
Blogger Cee Kay said...

I'd rather be an ostrich, bury my head in the sand and not think about it right now, please. Even the thought of leaving my daughter and husband (and parents and brother) behind is too painful. But I guess, if it comes to that I would spend all the time I could with them, sing to my daughter 'coz she loves to hear me sing, maybe record a "letter" for her and my husband, telling them how much I love them, take one, long, last look around my new house, make love to my husband one last time.... So many things, so little time...

4:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are lot of things I would like to do. Understand Theory of Relativity, Do time travel, Go to Mars, meet all virtual entities. So with all those left unatainable , the only thing is the last one which has a greater chances of attaining, I decided that.

10:10 PM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

@ jhantu scary isn't it?
@ just mohit I'm happy for you.
@ gettingthere you got me misty eyed there. Leave no regrets. Take your time and live life to the fullest.
@ kk I think you're being too presumptious.

10:48 AM  
Blogger Cacophoenix said...

What would I change: I would have perhaps confessed to my best friend that I held a candle for him. But then I wouldn't be here married to the person who gives me that look every morning I wake that I want to spend eternity in his arms.
I wouldn't change a single damn thing cause if it weren't for all the trip ups and downs I wouldn't be hwo I am or where I am today.
I have had regrets, but I am also too restless in my mind to dwell on could have beens.
What would I do on the last day of my life. eat icecreams, lie on the grass and count the stars, absorb the sights, smells and sounds of life write my last blog or diary and go to bed with my husband. As I said I am going to spend eternity only in his arms.

1:32 PM  
Blogger NoviceProgrammer said...

Last day of my life?
hmm...i will probably brood over the fact that its the last day...lol...once the brooding is done, i ll probably want to surround myself with all the people that matter...say thank you and sorry...and then probably freak out till i drop dead..lol..

10:58 AM  
Blogger Rohini said...

I'd probably try and fit a lifetime of motherhood into those last 24 hours. I'd probably spend most of it with Ayaan, write him a letter or a video to tell him about me and the values I want him to have, write a to-do list of things for Jai, and finally stock up the groceries...

12:39 PM  
Blogger Pallavi said...

Thats a wonderful song and good u resurfaced it. Made me think on few things.:)

2:51 PM  
Blogger Cee Kay said...

One thing I forgot to mention that I'd do on my last day - order take-out for my husband and daughter. I am sure he will ask me "Honey, could you please order somehting before you go?"...

I tease him about it a lot :D

9:30 PM  
Blogger Sagnik Nandy said...

hey come on now - next post should be all cheered up and old school M - thats a request that will next become a demand and if still not met will become a threat, one where i will bombard you with lyrics of my top ten worst hindi movie songs :D

4:32 AM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

@ cacophoenix wow...you just blew me away. That isn't a comment. That deserves to be a post by itself. And yes, I'm so glad you're back.
@ siddharth say your thank yous and sorrys right now. And no, don't freak out. It really isn't your last day. Just living your moments like it is.
@ rohini of course you'd do all that. And yes that list wold be quite essential (from what I remeber of your post on the to do list *lol*)
@ pallavi thanks for stopping by and do come back again.
@ getting there :))
@ sagnik :)) I just seem to be getting too emotional these days and a little bit depressed. Which probably gets reflected in my blog. But really nice seeing you here. And may be I'll try to be more cheerful. If only to save myself from your threat :)

12:52 PM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

12:53 PM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

12:54 PM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

12:54 PM  
Blogger Sagnik Nandy said...

i got a sense of repeated deja vu - reading your last response :D

3:04 PM  
Blogger Prerona said...

if i had a chance to do it all again - i'd do exactly the same :)

if i knew i had just a while more to live, i'd stop and stand where i was, for whatever time was left ... bcz its heaven

5:02 AM  
Blogger Sue said...

I used to live like the world were ending next week. If I couldn't finish something, it either stopped mattering to me, or it got finished somehow.

It's a nice way to live. And you remember to let the people you love know that they matter to you.

7:49 AM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

@ sagnik :))Yeah me too :))
@ prerona that is lovely. And I'm happy for you. So do stop awhile and take a breather.
@ sue nice seeing you back. Hope you are doing alright now. And yes, there's nothing like seizing every moment and making the most of it. Thanks for stopping by.

8:35 AM  
Blogger Brazenhead said...

What would I do if it was the last day of my life? Probably nothing special. May be write on my blog and say good bye to all those mattered. You know something, when you look at terminal patients, the ones who really have a short window to live, they don't necessarily do anything all that different. I guess it takes a long time to accept the terminality and after that it is smooth sailing.

One day before I go, I do want to feel the Calcutta rain again though. And I wish I had a time machine to go back and enjoy all that innocense.

9:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Am I?

10:46 AM  
Blogger Sue said...

I am, thanks. It wasn't a previa after all, only a low placenta.

See you later (alligator).

9:28 AM  

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