This Morning's Texas sunrise was not something I would have wanted to miss. -- Photo by Pat Bean
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” — Unknown
Travels With Maggie
At the suggestion of a friend, I watched a video on YouTube http://tinyurl.com/4cr4yow featuring a crowd jumping up and down and singing “I”m Gonna Live Forever,” the theme song from “Fame.”
It got my heart dancing a joyous jig, and my mind thinking back to when I actually thought that was a possibility. I’m both an optimist and a late bloomer so the realization that I was only a mere mortal didn’t completely sink in until I was about 40.
It was only then that I finally understood the words Ian Fleming wrote for his famous James Bond character to quote. “You only live twice: Once when you’re born. And once when you look death in the face”.
Along with the acceptance that the years ahead of me were numbered, also came the realization that I didn’t want to die with regrets for things I hadn’t done. From that minute forward, I had a new zest for life, and an appreciation for each day given me.
It seems odd that this second life of mine, simply because I accepted that death is a part of the whole, has been so much better than the first. Perhaps it’s because I take time to enjoy each sunrise because I know there’s always the possibility it might be my last.
Pat Bean's blog 
Tough love directed at oneself. I am an extremely late bloomer. The fact of my own mortality did not hit me until I was 60. Now I’m running as fast as I can to squeeze it all in while I can. 😀
BTW – just watched the video – this is my kind of “mob rule”. What a blast 😀 !!!
i like the way he turns the camera sideways for better framing of individuals — if they ever try to get me to shoot video at the paper I’m going to do that …. then maybe they won’t try any more.
I absolutely get the sentiment. I was in a car crash with a moose when I was in my 30’s. Looking death in the face, or nose, for those few seconds was a gift. The idea that every day of my life since then is a second chance reminds me to live life my life more completely, to make the people I love a priority, to pursue my passions, to be true to myself, clean up my messes as soon as possible, and harbor no regrets – except maybe one. I only regret that a moose had to die for me to recognize this.
A friend died a couple of weeks ago, and a woman who knew him said something the other day that struck me: “It’s pretty exciting just to wake up in the morning and have a day to attend to.” Lest we forget.
Too right. I regret too much of my first forty years. I’m trying to work smarter at the ones I have left.
In Bristol UK, they had a flashmob StarWars lightsabre fight, brilliant
We sat today and had lunch on the terrace, 25c in February – who’d believe it.
I am trying to enjoy all the now times, not to worry about what we have coming. Hard to change though.
Jim
Losing my mother a little over a year ago changed how I see life, the universe, and everything, including death. It’s liberating, in many ways.
And then there’s this, from Anais Nin: We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection.
So does that mean we can live three times?
This post resonated with me, Pat. Well done!