Living Your Eulogy… and why a clean house and inbox zero is a dangerous sign

What will people say about you when you die?

That's a hell of opener isn't it.

Were you the go-getter, chasing your dreams with fierce ambition?

Or maybe you 'had a smile that lit up the room'... the perfect accessory to your 'heart of gold'.

Or were you the strong one, the one others could rely on, giving strangers the shirt off your back if they needed it?

Or perhaps were you the quiet type, a person of few words, content with the simple things in life.

Or maybe you were an asshole.

I know you're thinking.

"Woahhhh... I want my emails to be motivating, inspiring, educational, heck, even sales-y.

What in the fresh hell is this?

I don't wanna be reminded that I'm not immortal."

Yes, I get it, it's difficult to think about.

Especially at 3am which is apparently the *perfect* time for my brain to ponder this.

Sadly, I attended a funeral recently and it got me thinking.

What impact am I having in this lifetime?

What mark am I making on others?

Have I done enough? Am I doing enough?

If it was curtains for me today, would I be happy with how I've lived this life?

I only know this: I want whatever is said about me to be wholeheartedly true.

I want it known that I never settled, that I never gave up of searching for my full potential. That I tried hard, fought hard, loved harder, and most importantly, lived.

The privilege that is this life is surely honoured by truly living it.

So how do you know you're truly living it? Especially in a world where you're time is stretched thin.

It's easy to get caught up in the rat race. Too easy.

But you know those spontaneous moments? Those unplanned experiences that you decide to do on a whim?

It could be as simple as laying in your backyard stargazing with your kids.

Or as wild as calling up your bestie and going on a random night out.

Or as enriching as visiting your grandparents and having a deep conversation with them.

They make the finest memories.

That, I think, is living.

Yet, as we grow older, those moments become few and far between.

We feel the weight of our adult responsibilities and feel the need to prioritise things like 'inbox zero' (which is a bullshit term btw) and a 'spotless house'.

Why?

Why is that the definition of success?

Why is a clean house the sign that you 'have it all together'? Why should we be focussed on those mundane achievements?

Here's a thought:

What if it's a sign that you're NOT living?

What if an overflowing inbox and a messy house is a sign that you're LIVING life?

Those unread emails? They can wait.

The cleaning? Also, can wait.

Call an old friend. Go on a day trip. Talk to a stranger in line at the grocery store. Volunteer your time at an animal shelter. Book the holiday. Go see a show.

That project your soul is aching for you to do? Start the damn thing.

Take that cooking class, that dancing class, that art class.

Write that book, that song, that screenplay.

These are the enriching, passionate moments that give us life.

So use the fine china. Spray that expensive perfume all over your body. Drink the French champagne. Eat whatever the fuck you want.

I wrote a letter to myself when I turned 35, and two years on it still rings true.

Stay open and completely focussed on living a life you’re proud of.

Show no mercy when it comes to your happiness.

Life is a gift, not a promise.

Remember that your ‘hard days’ will one day be your ‘easy days’.

This life is beautiful, messy, confusing, hard, harsh, bright, thrilling, rich, magical and yours to live... but it's short.

So live it.

What will you do to truly live today?