“Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.” John Keating (Robin Williams) The Dead Poet’s Society
Last night I had a dream about my career. It woke me up with a start and I sat on the edge of my bed with my eyes wide open. I sat there staring at my sleeping wife and pondering my life. The digital clock’s red numbers ticked by slowly until sleep finally revisited me a half-hour later.
I woke up thinking about that dream. How to I prevent it from coming true? How can I change? Then I got Debbie’s note about her friend Larry’s passing from melanoma. His recurred. Mine hasn’t. My scar burned painfully. I feel like a ticking time bomb.
My high school yearbook quote reads “why put off until tomorrow what you can postpone indefinitely.” Those are childish words of a boy who had no value of time. Twenty-eight years and a burning scar on my back have taught me that value. But I still suffer from procrastination. That has to stop. Not tomorrow. Now.
Larry’s death is also reminder of a fact that is true for all of us: We are all living on borrowed time. It’s up to us to make the most of it.
So that’s what I plan on doing today. I’m going to take a hard look at what I’m doing. What am I doing right. What I need to do differently. It will be tough to face what I need to change. Change is never easy — it pushes you out of your comfort zone.
It’s time to adjust my mission. To refocus my efforts. To set out a plan for this week. This month. This lifetime.
It’s time to seize the day.