Live Like You Were Dying | Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw's song 'Live Like You Were Dying,' serves as yet another reminder that each of us is allotted a certain amount of time here on earth. None of us knows the date or hour that we will be called home, which is why we should live as if we were dying.

Old Man with Pocket Watch, Photo by Adina Voicu

We often pity people with terminal illnesses, but in truth we all have a terminal illness because living is a terminal illness. We all are born and will die, it is just that some are more acutely aware of their impending demise. How would you live if you knew you would die soon?

Wouldn't you take the time to touch other people's lives in a more positive manner? Would you hold back from cursing out a driver who cut you off? Perhaps they just received a report from their doctor that so preoccupied them that they didn't even notice.

Would you care so much about office politics, celebrity gossip, jealousy, or despair over worldly or other ephemeral concerns? This was a wake-up call for me, and a remembrance to not judge others nor ourselves, but to start from where we are to live and to love!

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How to Achieve Peace in a Storm

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

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Enlightenment and The Forgiven

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."

The little boy then understood how powerful his words were. He looked up at his father and said "I hope you can forgive me father for the holes I put in you."

"Of course I can," said the father.

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The Paradox of Our Times

Today we have bigger houses and smaller families

More conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less common sense,

More knowledge, but less judgment,

We have more experts, and more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We spend too recklessly, laugh too little,

Drive too fast, get angry far too quickly,

Stay up late, get up too tired,

Read too little, watch T.V. too often,

And pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but have reduced our values,

We talk too much, love too little, and lie too often.

We have learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We have added years to life,

Not life to years.

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers.

Wider freeways, but narrow viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less; we buy more, and enjoy less.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back,

But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space,

We have split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less.

Plan more, but accomplish less.

We’ve learned to rush, but not to want,

We have higher incomes, but lower morals.

We build more computers to hold more information,

To produce more copies, but communicate less,

We are long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast food, and slow digestion,

Tall men, and short character,

Steep profits and shallow relationships,

More leisure and less fun.

More kinds of food, but less nutrition,

Two incomes, but more divorce,

Fancier houses, but more broken homes.

That’s why I propose, that as of today,

You do not keep anything for a special occasion,

Because everyday that you live is a special occasion.

Search for knowledge, read more,

Sit on the porch and admire the view,

Without paying attention to your needs.

Spend more time with your family and friends,

Eat your favorite foods and,

Visit the places you love.

Enjoyment is life as a chain of moments,

Not long drawn out survival,

Remove from your vocabulary phrases like,

” One of these days” and “Someday.”

Let’s tell our families and friends how much we love them.

Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life.

Everyday, every hour, and every minute is special.

And you do it knowing that it could be your last…

Just think… one of these days you may not be here to do any of the above!

Author: Dr. Bob Moorehead, Pastor