50 Years to Live

What if I said you only have 6 months to live? What would you do? How would you react? How would you make the last few months of your life count? With whom would you spend your time? Where would you travel? What would you get done? It’s a scary thought really.

Well, what if I told you that you only have 50 years to live? In the history of the Earth and the universe, 50 years is a blip, a blink. So, what will you do with the time you have left? Because it’s running out second by second.

Our lifespan is our own personal eternity. Unfortunately, we tend to treat it as so—as though we have all the time that will ever exist to do what we always wanted to do. The problem is, we don’t. We truly have no time at all. Our life is all we have. It is our beginning and end and everything in between. That’s it. Do what you will with your eternity, but make it worth your while.

“I know I was born and I know that I’ll die. The in between is mine.”
- Pearl Jam "I am Mine"

I don’t mean to call into question any belief, faith, or ideal of the afterlife. I have my own beliefs of what comes next, everyone does, so I won’t weigh us down in the endless debate. However, the afterlife is just that—after life. It’s wonderful to have faith and dream about what may be, but if you do nothing but live for your afterlife, you’re squandering the known, physical, and wonderful gift of life—during life.

I am also not saying to go sky diving, bungee jumping, or running with the bulls, but to find and do what you personally find exciting. Use the short time you have left, whether it’s six months or fifty years, and live it how you want it to be lived because whether there is an afterlife, nothing, or reincarnation, this is the only time you’ll get to be you as you are.