MAKING HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln
In the last few years, I find myself thinking about death a lot more than I used to - not just any death, but my death! I am not morbidly obsessive about it, but I do think about it a lot more than in the past! In a way, I am a lot like Woody Allen when he said, "I know everyone dies, but I am still hoping an exception will be made in my case!"
What would you do today, if you knew tomorrow was to be your last day? As a priest, I have often thought of people coming to the end of life, but when I thought of it I usually thought of parishioners, friends and relatives who were aging, but I didn’t really think that tomorrow could be my own last day on earth!
Even now when I let myself think about dying, I try to remember that little Latin phrase we learned when we were studying Latin in high school seminary - Carpe Diem! Seize the Day! Now that I have my tombstone in place, my casket picked out and paid for, my funeral plans updated, my last will and testament finalized, I can focus now on living well in the time I have left. In taking care of those things, I followed the advice of Ron Popeil, inventor of the famous TV rotisserie oven, "Set it and forget it!" I updated my end-of-life plans, just in case, and then I filed them away!
I have decided that, since I "do not know the day or the hour," I am going to live as if there is no end to my days! As we used to say in the country, back when I milked cows, "I am going to milk this cow till it's dry!" I would rather be interrupted during another great adventure than not allowing myself to even think about another adventure simply because I am "too old!" Besides, no one should assume that a little bit of denial never has its place! Personally, I have found denial pretty helpful in certain circumstances!
I have to keep pushing myself. I need to have a project that I can dream about and wake up to! That is who I am! Just one month after my last project ended, I already have drawings completed and a pamphlet drafted outlining my next one. My old boss at Saint Meinrad Seminary, Father Denis, who was well-known for his sarcasm, once said about me, "Knott, when you are about 100 years old, I will probably find you in an attic somewhere working on a new program for priests who are dying!" My answer to him was short and to the point. "I hope so!"
Besides, I can't die just yet because of the fact that I have 500,000 American Airlines frequent-flyer miles and 100,000 United Airlines frequent-flyer miles waiting for me to use! It would be a sin to waste them and I wouldn't want to die with a sin like that on my soul, now would I?
I am ready to meet my maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared for the great
ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Winston Churchill
Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face.
Then the worms eat you. Be grateful if it happens in that order.
David Gerrold
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