Ideal Life Design

Living and Dying

Posted on 16. Aug, 2009 by admin in Inspiration

I am not
afraid to die.  This realization
hit me reading a great book by Gene O’Kelly called Chasing Daylight, How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life.  The author was diagnosed with a
terminal brain tumor and writes this little gem during the last 90 days of his
life.  It is a memoir about a
successful man who at the moment of discovering he is dying, decides to live.

O’Kelly
writes about living in the present moment for his final 90 days.  He noticed the simplest things that he
had been too busy to observe climbing the corporate ladder: a bird flying in
the sky, the sound of water in a stream, real conversations with people that he
loved.  He called these times
“perfect moments.”

The concept
of a Perfect Moment and O’Kelly’s story struck a chord with me.  Being in the present moment can be
tricky for me.  I’m someone who
doesn’t care much about the past, but I’ll invest buckets of time in the
future. Ideas and plans excite me. 
And, sometimes, I’ll plan to the extent that I miss the fun right in
front of me.  I work on this.  Daily.

I decided
after reading Chasing Daylight, that I would take a new approach to staying in
the present moment and created a simple coaching tool by the same name in honor
of the author.

Create A
Perfect Moment

1.     Stop-Once an hour, be intentional and stop what you are doing.

2.     Breathe-Take three or more deep breathes.

3.     Observe-Look around at what is happening in your surroundings and
find something to appreciate for 60 seconds.

4.     Gratitude-Marinate in what you are appreciating.  Really see it, smell it, hear it, taste
it.

Isn’t that
fun?  Here’s what I’ve
noticed.  Perfect Moments are
happening all of the time.  You
just have to take off your busy glasses and open your perfect moment eyes to
see them.  Brushing my daughter’s
hair.  Watching my crazy beagles
wrestle.  Really tasting a
delicious slice of strawberry pie. 
Laughing at the crazy fat squirrel that barks at me all the time.  These are perfect moments. 

Living
this way,  drinking in all that this life has to offer, keeps me centered
in a way that does not allow a fear of living or dying to have a place in me.