If you knew you only had 4-5 years left to live ....

Post Reply New Topic

I knew a lady who got so angry with her neighbor that she emptied the entire contents of her aquarium in the driver seat of the other woman's car. I have to say I still get great joy thinking about this sceen. When someone was retelling this story thinking how horrible it was I kept grinning from ear to ear thinking how ingenius. (I just hope she took her fish our first!)

Ticker, aren't you living in Arizona, USA??

You could be seeing all the beauty of that place.

I'd set up a routine for my kids so that once I was out of the picture, they'd still have the routine to fall back on. I'd try to see that they had some connection with other adults whom they could possibly turn to for help once I was gone. I'd write down all my recipes and each of them a letter, and try to go as quietly as possible.

Yeah I'm in AZ. But it still costs to travel here. And most of the so called beauty requires someone who can walk and I can barely walk now thanks to a knee injury and arthritis. I'm barely managing the twice weekly PT and have trouble walking the hall at work. So hiking is now out of the question. Plus I have no one to go with. Besides the dangers of mountain lions, coyotes and wolves there are dangers of meeting up with another human on the trail. A lot of bad stuff goes on in AZ. Not to mention we have some of the highest gasoline prices in country and I can't afford to drive down South to go to Antelope Canyon or pay the fees the Navajos charge to let you see it.

I would write a 20 000 word book on why psychiatry is bad for people and why we should destroy the whole institution.

At the age of 43, I'd love to play a gig. All the songs I've learned, throughout the years, but never had the confidence to play in front of others. Of course, might be a slow death for those in the audience. I've learned guitar, mandolin and mouth organ, to a degree that pleases me, after a few beers on a Saturday night .
But I'd love to play music with others, and for others.

I've probably heard worse at gigs, so I would be happy to listen to it.

Maybe, just maybe my guitatar or mandolin might resemble something you have heard before. That might please me, in a very selfish way.
BUT! I have a 12 string accoustic, and on a good night....."den, dellin, dey....dey, de, dow, .."how I wiiiish, how I wish you were here, we're just 2 ................swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,...runnin' over the same old ground, what have we fo...oooond?...the same old !..wish you were he..eere,..den, dellin, dey....dey, de, dow.

I'd stop whittling about AS, anxiety and attempt to enjoy myself. Travel and learn eat be merry

I could quit my job and devote all my time and energy to memorizing digits of pi...

Although that would probably kill me in 1 or 2 years because I'd get so obsessed that I'd forget to eat, sleep, etc.

It was kind of a head snap when they told me I had Hep-C. Truth is I really have no idea what will do me in. Just facing that reality gave me pause to think pretty hard about it. While I would have guessed I would have tried to fit in all those things I hadn't done, it was the opposite. I enjoy a cup of coffee, much more then I ever did before.

I'd begin enacting my plan to rob every bank in the south side of Chicago at the same time - of course doing so would involve having a gang of no less than 100 people who I could control. most of whom need to be willing to get themselves arrested on the north side of chicago at the time of the robberies, but hey, I might be able to find a way to make it happen.

I'd also probably take out huge loans and travel all over the place.

But thats only if I could be 100% guaranteed beyond any doubt that I wouldn't possibly live. I wouldn't want to screw up my future if there was even a slight chance i wouldn't die.

I have thought about this often enough.

What I do is to keep on seeking answers to myself.

I keep on being as good a parent to my daughter as I can. I'm all about trying to teach her how to be critical of life so that she can hopefully find answers to her questions sooner than it has taken me.
Other than that, I can only show her my love and respect. She'll have to figure out the rest on her own.

For my family, I just keep on trying to maintain as healthy a relationship as I can... for them and me.

For the other people I care immensely about, I watch for opportunities to enjoy the moments we have together.
I try my best to amend any wrongs I have done in our relationships.
I lend a hand, an ear, or a shoulder whenever I can.

For all the others out there I try to meet each person with respect and the knowledge that they have their own unique perspective on the world. I may not agree with it, I may rail against it, but before I do... I should understand it as best I can.

I have seen death many times over, sometimes up close and personal. I have explored the question of death ever since I was a young boy (before the age of 10, if memory serves me correct).
I tend to think I do not fear death, but when that moment comes is when I will know for sure.

If I was given a specific time frame for how much longer I was expected to live, I would keep on doing what I am doing now.
No amount of careening around the world would make my life better if I wound up ignoring the mainstays of my life... family, friends and community.