The world is crazier than it was even back in the 1980s now. Today we not only face the spectre of nuclear disaster (perhaps even outright war), we are in the midst of two or more pandemics and political strife unlike any I’ve ever seen. There was a man who set himself on fire even.
You may not even make it out alive if you go grocery shopping these days.
This is the world we live in now, a world where we could die in an instant.
This has really changed how I look at things. While I still make plans for the future, I have had to accept the fact that I may not live to see the future.
I am not freaking out over this. What is the point of freaking out over things you cannot control? The best path is to accept the facts and alter your behavior accordingly.
While I still work, pay bills, and save for the future (because hopefully I have one), there are some things I have wanted to do for years but continued to put off because I previously thought I had a lot of time to get around them.
I decided to do one of those things.
For instance, several years ago I realized that I’d reached the age where quite a bit of the music that I love was never converted to digital. It has been locked up in the vinyl format, out of my reach without a record player to access them.
I fixed that.
I invested in a record player and picked up some used vinyl at the thrift shops I frequent. I’m currently listening to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as I write this. I paid 99 cents for the original vinyl LP at Goodwill last weekend.
This may be my last chance to enjoy the album, so I have arranged to enjoy it while I can. I have several others I picked up on the same shopping trip that I’ll enjoy today as well.
On the other side of the coin, I’ve decided to eliminate some things as well. If I don’t use it and don’t want to trip over it or clean it on my last day on this planet, I don’t want to look at it any longer, so those old scratchy cheap polyester blankets I bought a few winters back because it was freezing cold and they were all I could find have been tossed into the trash along with some things I told myself I would repair but never got around to.
I even cleaned out my pantry and tossed all of the food I won’t get around to eating since my diet has changed considerably now that Katie is gone.
Canned soup? My tastes have changed so that I can no longer stand the stuff so I tossed my JIC stockpile. I tossed most of my canned goods, actually.
These days I tend to eat simpler fare. I’ll fix something simple in the crock pot most days and have become quite fond of oatmeal, beans, and brown rice. Many days I whip up a simple Hillbilly version of the stir-fry for dinner.
If I’m lucky, perhaps I’ll locate a wok while I’m thrifting. I’d like to continue my experiments, but it’s not important enough to buy new.
When things happen at work that are annoying, I remind myself that this may be my last day at my job. This thought shifts my perspective enough that I don’t get annoyed these days. What’s the point? I won’t be there forever, after all.
Nothing lasts forever anymore.
When people want my attention, I ask myself: if this were the last moment of my existence, would I want to spend it hanging out with them, or doing something else?
My actions depend upon the answer to that question.
Right now, I wanted to try to make this world a slightly better place. I wanted to try to make people think about the choices they make on a daily basis, so I chose to write this post instead of doing something else.
Because if this is my last moment on Earth, I can think of no better way to spend it than trying to make it a slightly better place.
What would you do if this were your last moment on Earth? Would you spend it scrolling social media, vegging out in front of the TV, or hanging out with friends? Would you want to do a little something to make the world a better place? Maybe you’re so tired you want to spend it doing nothing at all.
There is no right answer to this question. In fact, your answers may change depending upon your day or mood.
But for now, what would you do if this were your last day on Earth? I would love to hear your responses.
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If you happen to find this post helpful, would you consider sharing it with a friend or on social media? Thanks!
I’ve written a lot of books sharing my odd view of life in hopes of helping others. My most notorious book is titled The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too, but The Minimalist Cleaning Method is pretty popular as well. You can find them at the following places:
Barnes and Noble
Apple iBooks
Smashwords (non-DRM)
I would like to donate more to charity but my husband is afraid we will outlive our savings so I don’t do it. After all, I care for him, too, and we are 75 years old so are not earning money any more.
He has a valid point, so what about a compromise? Add a small donation to your favorite charity to your will, or add a request to your funeral arrangements for donations in lieu of flowers? It may not be an immediate donation, but you know it will help, though hopefully they won’t see the money for a very long time 🙂
To echo Annie’s point, we too could live a long time by familial history. 75% of our estate will be donated to local organizations. We do currently donate to them monthly what we are comfortable with and that could increase as we age and become less able. Maybe try an increase of $5 or $10/month to 2 of your preferred organizations and see how that feels at the end of the year? Last year I increased 3 of ours by $25/month each and don’t really feel it.
Food for thought!
Excellent suggestion, Elle! I love how you handle this situation. You are awesome!
hi Linda, i thought i’d say howdy from here in 🇨🇦….because i noticed that u have supported Annie’s blog for many years. Happy Labour day weekend…( yip up here we spell labour with a u )😂
I guess I am going to be base level here, and motherly on the other side of the coin. I would either spend my last day on Earth with my special fella, intimately. Or I would cuddle my adult daughter within an inch of her life and snuggle her ’til she got fed up with me. Probably about 5 minutes after I began. LOL.
That is beautiful, Darwin Girl. Is there any way to do a bit more of that now, while you have the chance? Given the uncertainty of our future, we all deserve to do more of what we really want to do if it causes no harm to others.
Hi Annie…it appears that your jotted writings have taken a dark turn. Permit me to help you see how we see u. We see u as one of the strongest most inventive and resilient ladies of the deep south. We see u as someone who does not succumb to a storm….but rather as someone who is the captain of the boat that rescues many others stranded in that very same storm. We see you as someone with the courage to think and feel and express….when others are too shy or passive to say anything at all. It’s ok Annie, we will let u have a down day now and then….but after brief indulgence…
we will point you to others who need your rescuing. We all need heroes….and although u may not have voted for this crown to own…..you wear it none the less.
🇨🇦 carla
Carla, you have left me speechless.
Do you truly believe that I help people here? I wonder about that sometimes. I just…I don’t want to be that person who does things for personal glory. I want to help people to think, and to perhaps give them ideas that may make their lives better. Do I accomplish that here?
it’s not about personal glory….it’s about letting others give you the credit that is due. You’ve shared your exploits relentlessly ….even with the courage to share when things went horribly wrong. You let us cry with you and rejoice with the things that worked …. the happy times. Stay the course…….yes your writing helps people.
Hm, this weekend I seem to have spent some of my last days on Earth working a r7rs-pico-spec, a specification for a programming language, and writing a sermon on how AI may or may not destroy us all.