Live the Dream!
Live everyday to it’s fullest!
Live like you are dying.
And the 1,004,282 plaques (give or take)
which read something to the effect of:
Live – Love – Laugh.

Have one of these favorite quotes?
Carpe diem, perhaps?
All of the above?

I do! I don’t just want to exist. I want to experience!

One of the things on my “dream list” (I’m MUCH to young to call it a bucket list – maybe once I hit middle age in another 30 or 40 years  – but not yet!) Anyway, one of the fantasies I fully intend to accomplish is a helicopter flight over Manhattan.

Have I mentioned how much I love NYC? I do – ohhh I really really do! And to fly over “my” city and view it in all its concrete jungle glory – WOW! Just wow! I’m vibrating at the very thought… okay, yes I’m a bit obsessed. Did I mention I love New York? Oh… okay – anyway – where were we…

Now, my husband is fearful of almost nothing. So little, in fact, we call him “daredevil” (and if you’re a fanboy/girl and you know anything about my husband you’ll get the reference – otherwise… never mind.) And when I say “we” call him Daredevil, I mean I do. He doesn’t have even a drop of comic book nerdiness in him. But I love him anyway.

So, again, he is fearless. Mostly. However he flatly refuses to get into a helicopter. In order to fulfill my fantasy I have assured him that one – he doesn’t have to go with me and two – if I die in a chopper crash over NYC all my loved ones can take comfort knowing that I was LIVING a dream as I took my last breath.

Hmmm. Now I’m thinking this just turned morbid – okay – sorry! Back to it…

Anyway, that is one of the ways I want to live: experiencing things I love and trying new stuff and having fun and excitement all the while staying present in the moment… Now that’s living!! Right? Of course it is!

Last week I spent the day at the hospital. I’ve had the same best girlfriend since 9^th grade and we’ve been through oh so much together. Recently her hubby had an accident involving a ladder and a fall (OUCH!) and was having surgery to get things literally screwed back together.

I stayed in the waiting room with her and, believe me, there are countless times the roles have been reversed. As her husband was in the O.R. with his life in the hands of virtual strangers, we did everything we could to distract ourselves. We sat in the waiting room, inanely flipping through out of date magazines. We “dined” on hospital cafeteria ‘cuisine’. We browsed the gift shop. We giggled about some conversations we overheard between docs and patients. And, yes, we held hands and shared a box of Kleenex when the surgery took longer than expected.

Then, it was over. The surgeon assured my girlfriend that things had gone well. Her husband was awake and ready to come home.

This whole experience took up an entire day.

And guess what… It was one of my favorite days.

Was it “living?”… I don’t really know.

What I do know is – it was LIFE. And it was priceless.

I love LIFE. The irreplaceable moments that add a richness that no adrenaline rush can match. As I look around, it seems a lot of people are working hard at “living.” And that is not a bad thing – but I hope we don’t lose our perspective of the truly important.

Are we so busy living that we are missing out on LIFE?

And even worse – are we failing in our responsibility to offer LIFE to our world?

As people of faith we seem to have a lot of advice to offer others about living. Like, “how to” and “how not to.” “Do this – not that.” “Act this way.” But are we taking a moment to sit with another and really listen? To offer hope – comfort – LIFE?

Are we willing to get our hands dirty with someone else’s problem?
Are we afraid to be seen with the weak or the needy?
Are we more comfortable offering “Rules of Living” than we are demonstrating LIFE?

I have no intention of only living. And I want to never lose site of what is truly important…

So sign me up for the helicopter ride – but I promise, it will not be the highlight of my LIFE. That label is reserved for the nitty gritty, everyday experiences that put me in closer relationships with what matters most.