one day

The author Paulo Coelho famously said, “One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.”

I generally like this advice yet it’s one I struggle the most to follow.

It’s one thing to understand the advice and another thing entirely to feel it on a visceral level so strongly that you actually do something about it.

Though I am not great at it, I try to keep this advice close to heart by asking myself in every activity: “What if this is the last time?”

What if this is the last time I visit?

What if this is the last time we grab coffee together?

When the possibility — however unlikely — that this could be it really hits, you engage with your environment differently.

You appreciate things a little more. The coffee tastes better. The light hits the street differently. The smiles you exchange with the person across from you seem to be playing in slow motion all of a sudden.

Should all of our moments be guided by the undercurrent of such heavy questions about how limited our time may be?

I don’t know. It’s helpful at least some of the time.

And right now, I’m grateful to be here and that feels good.