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)
