No Dress Rehearsal

It can be altogether too easy to lose sight of the fact that life is not a dress rehearsal. We need regular reminders.

Life itself gives us wake-up calls – incidents and occurrences that bring us face–to-face with the truth of our own mortality.

Accepting the inevitability of death is not the biggest challenge. Coming to terms with the unpredictability and uncertainty of life is much more troubling.

A universal problem is that far too many of us forget to live while we are alive. Regret can become the common enemy.

It’s possible to exercise a degree of control over what we’re given and what we earn. But goods and chattels can become an encumbrance distracting us from what is of utmost importance.

It’s what we do with who we are that will make a difference to the way we live. And it’s the person we become who will be remembered long after we’re gone.

There are many things that influence who we are now. Our perceptions, attitudes and opinions are linked to the life we have lived and the life we are living.

Who we will be in the future is another matter entirely. External circumstances may not favour us but we can use our heart and our head to improve the person we are. We get to choose. Everything we have experienced has brought us to this moment in time. The next minute, the next hour, the next day holds promise. No-one can claim that promise for us. We must recognise it and decide for ourselves. The responsibility is ours and ours alone.

Our days are numbered. That’s the reality. Who we become in that time is entirely our own choice.

Whether ours is a life well lived is no-one’s responsibility but our own.

Making each day count is a great starting point.