With all the recent life and death happenings, I thought it important to discuss how we can use the remainder of our lives as wisely as possible. We may never know how long we’ll be here, but the quality of our time on earth is completely within our control…
In a nutshell, my feng shui motto is: Design with your death bed in mind.
“Wow,” you may be thinking to yourself, “that sounds rather depressing!” But it’s actually meant to be quite the opposite. As I suggest to many of my clients, taking time out on a regular basis to mentally fast-forward to the end of your life can be a powerful practice. Doing this allows you to take note of what’s truly important. From that perspective it’s much easier to see what things you place great importance on, and what things are simply trivial time-wasters. Living with your own death in mind is actually a very positive way to live.
Take a few minutes to close your eyes and do a little exercise. Sit in a comfortable position, and slowly move through each of the years of your life leading to today. Then continue to fast-forward through the next month, year, decade… and settle on the spot where you have a perspective of your entire life stretched out behind you – that beautiful moment before you take your last breath.
What do you most want to have accomplished, experienced, created or attained? What do you cherish most on your own unique journey? What things will allow you to feel as though you’ve lied a fulfilled and satisfied life? What is really, REALLY important to you?
List whatever comes to mind in your journal or on a piece of paper now. Write it on a note card, your forehead or your bathroom mirror. Look at it daily — the more often, the better!
Then review the following list of typical daily activities. If today were your last, would you choose to…
· Watch TV
· Surf the net
· Drink alcohol in excess
· Complain about your job
· Stay up late and wake up tired
· Gossip about the latest office politics
· Worry about finances and money
· Argue over a petty disagreement
· Live a sluggish, sedentary lifestyle
· Live in a cluttered, disorganized space
· Stay late at work each night
· Eat more than your body needs
· Read the latest gossip magazine
· Spend hours sorting emails
· Fixate on work and/or money
· Spend hours at the gym
· Play video games
Or would you rather…
· Call a dear friend
· Get plenty of sleep
· Laugh until you cry
· Express your creativity
· Compliment a coworker
· Reach out to help a stranger
· Play outside with your children
· Take a walk and connect with nature
· Spend time in introspection and stillness
· Be intimate time with your partner or family
· Maintain your home so it is beautiful and inspiring
· Stay organized so everything is efficient and streamlined
· Push yourself out of your comfort zone, and experience your ultimate potential
· Make a difference on the planet
Make sure that those things most important to you become a regular part of your routine. Doing this can ripple out and transform all areas of your life.
Then, with these things in mind, design your home to support these activities. If you long to do something, but simply haven’t gotten around to it, create a space for it in your home, budget or schedule. If there are activities that you wish to curb, design your home to help you avoid them. You can use your home (or office) to encourage, or discourage, any behavior you wish.
Watching too much TV? Can’t seem to break yourself away from the boob-tube? How bout rearranging the living room, hiding the television, or canceling your cable subscription all together? (I’ve done this myself recently so I’m living proof that you can exist without TV). Be radical. Take risks. Live full-out. Design with INTENTION!
Our journey here on earth is a relatively short jaunt, and will be over before you know it. Give yourself the greatest gift and make sure that each and every day is spent like it’s your last…
