Have you ever considered what you would do if you only had one day left to live? The first thing I would do is write a final blog telling everyone goodbye and thanking them for all the inspiring and infuriating thoughts we shared, both of which were much needed. We agreed and disagreed agreeably with few exceptions. I'd also email and phone my closest friends and family members whose anvils helped shape the cookie I am today. The conversations would be short since there would be much still to do. With the remaining hours I would consider whether my time here was well spent. Throughout my life the goals and defining purpose of my existence have continually evolved. In the beginning much of my time was spent attempting to accomplish the goals of those who came before me. And often those goals were a list of things they were unable or unwilling to accomplish during their lives. Parents often live vicariously through their children in this way. And it's understandable as many of those goals are noble, but there comes a day when we must choose our own path or relent to the path chosen for us. It's not an easy decision since going our own way can sometimes ostracize the people who love us most. But simply going our own way doesn't mean we made the right choice. Sometimes we choose dead ends or travel in circles. Neither of which gets us to our goal or fulfills our destiny. And destiny is tricky. We hear about destiny as if it's a foregone conclusion, but I don't think so. In the same way I don't think a child is destined for prison anymore than they are destined to be the president. I think we choose our path and it is made easier or more difficult based upon our circumstance. Sadly, few of us measure the distance as much as we measure the goal. And by that I mean we focus on our place in the world in relation to where we are headed. It's like a race with a distant finish line. And we sometimes forget that life places us at different starting points. And while it's easy to shake our heads in disgust because the finish line seems an impossible distance, we often do it at our own expense. How often do we ask, "How far have you come?" Unfortunately the analogy doesn't quite work, because we're not racing against each other. The race is against ourselves. And I hope in that final day we can all say it was a race well run
