Celebrate Your Life….COME ON!
After yesterday’s plane crash in Toronto my mom said something to me. She said, “Lisa, if I were one of those passengers on board I would be drinking champagne all night long tonight.” So true, Mom. So true.
Later that evening, Larry King was on and he was interviewing one of the passengers via telephone. With those striped suspenders, Larry looked into the camera dead on and asked the passenger what he was going to do tonight. The male passenger answered, “I’m going to drink champagne, Larry!” He had just had a near death experience (NDE) and he was going to go celebrate his life! Time to appreciate waking up in the morning…
I personally have never had an intense NDE before but I do know that the most common thing that people say after they have one is that they “really appreciate their life more than ever.” Although I am not speaking from experience, I can completely see where they are coming from. While the saying “it changed my life” is beyond cliché, it really rings true when analyzing NDE’s. Having a near death experience does change your life. It makes you wake up and start really appreciating what you have. It’s the time to celebrate your life and the people that make your life that much better.
Here is my question…Why should we wait for a NDE to happen to start appreciating and celebrating life? Why not now? Why wait to pop that bottle of champagne open…why not pop it now? I am not trying to tell everyone to become lushes in light of this miracle of a plane crash where there were no casualties; I am just saying that we should go out there and celebrate life no matter what. Seek out the details in life…the little things that make even the biggest grouch (Lyle my neighbor) happy.
As I was organizing my pictures from the past year in folders last night, I started noticing little moments that capture the little things in life that I think can sometimes get overlooked. I am not trying to go all Chicken Soup for the Soul on you, I am just sharing with you my thoughts on how to celebrate life, NDE or not.
Take a moment to relax and feed the birds.
Do the limbo whenever presented with the opportunity.
Hug a stranger. (High fives work, too.)
Take a bath!
Perform handstands as much as humanly possible.
Call in sick on a Tuesday and go play Dominos with your friends. If there is a beach around…even better!
Eat Ice Cream (especially on Vanilla Ice Cream Day… July 23rd)
Play Sports…
But never take them too seriously and start throwing milk jugs on a hockey rink when you lose.
Wear clogs at least once in your life.
Indulge…every once in awhile.
Seek out a thrill…
Smile…Especially before you go and drink red wine and stain your teeth.
Appreciate a perfect strawberry. Sometimes they are hard to find.
If you’re up…bring food to all night security guards. It will change their lives.
Try something new.
Jump!
Drink Sparky’s bold root beer at least once.
Re-watch Steve Guttenburg’s performance in Three Men and a Baby. (He’s the one on the left.)
But most importantly…
Love one another…
Love your Life….
And don’t forget to take a little time to smell the roses.
(Yeah so that last one had a hint of Chicken Broth in it… but you know what…it’s one of those days.)
ps. I have no clue who that person in the rose picture is with me.