It's The End of the World As We Know It...

I'm sitting at my desk at Indy Hall writing this, so I, along with the rest of planet earth, am still here. But, the Mayan's didn't predict when specifically on the 21st the world would end, so I suppose there's still time. All kidding aside, though, the concept of the world ending got me thinking a bit. More specifically, it got me looking at my actions, and the actions of others. This happens to also coincide with the end of the year, when I tend to look back at the past twelve months and think about what went well, what challenges I faced, what lessons I learned, and what adjustments and goals I want to make for next year.

So, with the very hypothetical "end of the world" concept in my head, in conjunction with the start of a new year coming up, I started examining my life a bit, and asking myself a few questions. Am I proud of myself, my actions, and the way I treat others? Are there any hurts or wrongs that, if I really was going to go out in a ball of flame, I would want to apologize for and right before that happened? Are there people or things that I'm taking for granted? Am I taking enough risk for the sake of my dreams, or do I too often play it safe worrying about the "what ifs"? Do I laugh often enough, share my happiness and energy enough with others as much as I can, show the people I love that I love them? I know, I know, sappy stuff. But, apocalypse aside, when I think about all of the crazy things that can happen to us and change our lives drastically in a split second, I sometimes wish I examined more carefully.

There's a song by Tim McGraw, written for his father (Tug McGraw, famous Phillies player) when his father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The title of the song is Live Like You Were Dying, and it's basically asking "what would you do if you knew you were dying? How would you live your life".  It's a morbid, yet pretty interesting question, and it always gets me pondering.

So as 2012 comes to a close and we look ahead to 2013, I wonder what it would be like if I decided to go all in, truly make every minute count, because really, you never know when it's all going to change. I think I like that idea a lot. Worry about the little things less, focus on those top priorities more. Those things that I want to be remembered by and leave as my legacy. When you look back on life, doesn't it seem so short? Where did the last year go? The last 5? The last 10? If it's going to pass so quickly, I personally think it's worth making my time count as much as possible. What do you think?

I hope you all have or had a wonderful holiday, and a very happy new year! Thank you all for being part of the inaugural year of Lilies and Elephants. See you on the flip side of the calendar!