How do we arrive at the end of our lives with a sense of having missed nothing? I have barely scratched the surface of my "bucket list"--the list of things I want to do before I "kick the bucket" at the end of life. But I think that it is possible to have a sense of not having missed anything without having done everything we had hoped to do. I know that may sound contradictory, but I believe it is so.
About a week ago I saw a time travel movie. At the end the protagonist said that better than being able to go to other times that he had loved when he was there was living each day as if it were his last. Of course, there were then pictures of him being really present with his wife, children, work, and just walking down the street. That thought has spun me around several times over in the last week.
Last night a man who had read The Alchemy of Fear and contacted me shared some of his photographs.* They are extraordinary, and I shared them with some friends of mine who enjoy photography. We agree that he has a great eye and an amazing ability to capture light. But, as I have pondered his pictures over the last day, I am guessing what makes them so wonderful is his presence. As I looked at some of the scenes he captured, I wondered, might I have just walked by and not even noticed the pictures of life that he caught?
In preparation for the great Thanksgiving feed today, I walked. It was a beautiful day, and I tried to really live it, capturing sights, smells, and even the cold wind on my face...as if this day were my last. Living with the intention to be really present to what I do and where I am. I believe that is how we reach the end of life without missing anything.
*If you would like to look at his pictures, you may do so by selecting this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26762898@N08/
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