Recently I saw a company slogan on the back of a semi-truck that caught my attention.
It simply said “One Day or Day One.”
I can’t recall the trucking line but I pondered those five words for several days.
Was I delaying my life til one day when? Was I procrastinating instead of planning my life?
In July of 2021 we lost my stepdad to Covid.
As we gathered around him to sing hymns and see him off on his home going, I’d occasionally glance over and check the monitor as his earthy life ebbed away.
His numbers slowly decreased until the red light came on indicating he’d accepted God’s invitation to come home.
I’d never witnessed someone trade this world for the next. It changed me forever.
The brevity of life became all too real, with its beautiful tapestry of experiences, miracles and messes.
Sitting one morning staring at the empty page in my journal, a question popped into my head.
“If I knew I had just 6 months to live what would I do and not do anymore?” To answer it required an honest assessment of my life.
5 front and back pages later, I was overcome with emotion and a renewed commitment to make the most of whatever time I have left.
That was my Day One.
I let go of offenses and grudges I’d held way too long. I cleaned up the clutter in and around me, amped up my fitness, planned fun experiences, logged off and traded energy stealers for energy enhancers, physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.
Are you living for one day when?
What if you made today Day One of you designing yourself, your life, your health, wealth, relationships, surroundings and calendar to reflect the life your 90 year old self will be proud of?
We don’t know how much time we have.
So go ahead.
Book the trip, host the dinner party, use your best, hit the dance floor, try something new, speak kindly to and about yourself, trust your instincts, stop shrinking to make others feel better about themselves, pray more, overthink less and spend time with those who love you instead of wasting time on trying to make those that don’t do.
These suggestions are but a handful of my own answers I wrote that day to the “if” question.
If you knew you only had 6 months to live, what would you do, who would you become, where would you go, what would you embrace or let go of?
How would you answer the “if” question? Today will either be another “one day when” or a new beginning – day one. Which will you choose?
Sandra Hubbard
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