A couple of days ago, Marita, my yoga teacher (and a lovely, lovely kindred spirit to mine) spoke about a task that her mother, Doris (another lovely, lovely kindred spirit), is taking on. It is called “If you had one year to live…”

The idea is to live each day to the very fullest, to do what you want to do if you knew you only had one year to live, to come to terms with your death because that’s when you can truly live, to erase the notion of “I’ll get around to it” and to live as if you have nothing to lose except your life. We are all so vulnerable to death, and yet we pretend it doesn’t exist. I hear those who know they only have a short time to live tend to live the fullest, without regrets, without conditions, without hesitations.

If I had one year to live, what would I do? Would my priorities change? What would I no longer push on the sidelines? What would I do now that I have been holding off? Who would I want to seek contact with again? What would I change about myself, and what would remain the same? If I had one year to live, will I be okay with how I represent myself? Would I be happy with the way my life is? Would I live it as if I know this is it. This is the end. There is nothing to lose. There is everything to gain. What would I want my legacy to be?

If I had one year to live… what would I do? Well, I created a category in “rhythm” appropriate for this theme. This category (”One Year”) will be attached to entries where I write about how I am changing my life, and what I am doing without regret. It is a matter of doing, not just wanting.