Category: Life

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying


I posted an article the other day about life and death… Interestingly enough, today, I stumbled into an article on regrets of the dying.
Bronnie Ware has written a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
This is a person who would take care of patients, spending the last 3 to 12 weeks of their lives with them. when she questioned the patients about regrets and what would the change if they had a chance, some common themes appeared. So she wrote a book about those themes.
Here is the article from her blog. It is an interesting, quick, read… so give it a look.
OR… Get the book here…

30

Day 30… How’s Those Resolutions Coming Along?

 

Well… Day 30 of 2012 is coming to a close here soon…

How are those resolutions coming along? As for me, I did not make any resolutions this year. I find that I forget them not long after I start them. So why bother. Unless you are truly motivated to change something about yourself, you are not likely to change that behavior. I lost 40 lbs last year… but I had some serious motivation! And that was not in the list of 2011 resolutions! A visit to the doctors office helped me make that choice! Hopefully you see my point!

Anyway…

It has been 30 days since we rang in the new year. In that 30 days, I have discovered a lot of really cool technologies and apps.

So I thought I would share some of my new found “gadgets“!

Workflowy

First off… I discovered this thing called Workflowy! A really cool “list” maker completely built with HTML5.  A hosted free app for the browser on the desktop or mobile, this application allows you to manage lists. You can even collaborate and share your lists with others. I am using it to manage my goals (personal, business, family) for the year. And I am also using the list to track tasks and other important items I need to complete! Give it a look!

Next up is Do!

Now this is a really neat Project Management type of application! It allows you to creat projects tasks and allows assignment of tasks to others (delegation) and is all handled in a very slick interface. I think the intuitive interface is what i really love about this application… Anyway… don’t take my word for it… check it out here!

Well, I hope you find these apps are as useful to you as they are to me.

Caio!

 

Life… and Death…

Or should I say Death… and Life…

The past couple of months have seen a few of my friends and family pass on from this life. I have also had friends who have lost loved ones, or will lose someone soon. Being surrounded by all of the feelings of losing friends and loved ones… and witnessing friends lose loved ones… I started thinking about life… and death… again!

This introspective pattern seems cyclical. For me, it seems to happen periodically. Every so often, I find myself wrestling with life and death. You know… The questions! Have I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish? Have I been a good husband and father? Will my wife and kids have great memories of our times together? Is my family prepared and can they go on if something unexpected were to happen to me?

It also gives me a chance to look forward! What do I want to do with my remaining days? Is there something I can do to improve my relationships with my wife, kids, friends and acquaintences? Is there anything I can do to have a more positive impact on people that surround me?

Then, there is my faith in God. Am I living my faith? Am I doing what the Bible says I should be doing? And of course, what are my failures with my faith and how can I fix them?

Death is one of those topics we all hide from. It is uncomfortable to talk about. It can be painful to talk about. Yet, it will happen. To each and everyone of us! Some sooner than others. So as I wrestle with my thoughts on the subject, I realize that while planning for the future, I cannot avoid the present. What I mean by this is, as I plan for retirement, plan for my children’s college, plan to grow old with my soul mate, I cannot look past planning for today. For I am not promised another second!

Now most of you reading this are probably saying to yourself… yeah… that is obvious! Well… to you maybe… you see, it has not always been so obvious to me. There was, and sometimes still is, a time where I felt invincible! Nothing could keep me from living! I have been through a lot in my life. And as I age, and I try to get out of bed every morning, the aches and pains let me realize that I am not invincible. And while my 18 year old brain says I still am invincible, my 49 year old body reminds me, I am not!

So I guess I am coming to grips with the fact that I won’t live here on earth forever… Which brings me to my faith.

Since I believe in God, I have no fear of death.

This is where you come in… Have you planned for your death? Will your family have the resources it needs to carry on after you are gone? Better yet, what can you do with the next “few” breaths you are given? Can you ask someone for forgiveness? Can you forgive someone? Can you make a difference in someone’s life today? Can you fix your broken relationships so that when you pass on, there are many great memories?

Have you planned for your life after death?

If you are unfamiliar with God, will you take some time to investigate His promises? Perhaps take some time to ask God for forgiveness from your sins?

In the bible, John 3:16 tells us that God loved us so much, that he gave his only son, that we could have eternal life. To do this, all you must do is recognize you are a sinner… and ask God for forgiveness from your sins… Then choose to develop a relationship with God. Study the bible, find people to study with and learn from. Choose to grow your faith!

I saw this video during the football game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots a couple of weeks ago. I happen to love this video. What I don’t love about it is that at the end of the video there is a request for money. Now I know these commercials do not make it on TV without the exchange of cash. And I am past this now… but it sends the message that God costs money.

Remember… everything God offers us is FREE!

If you have thoughts on this, leave a comment.