Hindustan Times
Live a life of dreams fulfilled
For most of us ordinary mortals, the very idea of death can be scary. Until one realises that death is as good as birth because it too is a growth process, one will carry the burden of death scare throughout one’s life. One whose life-lease is about to come to an end, the scare of death takes his/her apprehensions to mountainous proportion.
Bronnie Ware, writer-singer devoted to the care of the dying, narrates her experiences with such people in her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. She admits that her association with the dying gave her a new vision in life that “transformed” her into a more sensible, understanding and caring human being.
Bronnie lists five regrets that one should aim at living without. First, “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not a life others expected of me.” This regret is universal and everyone has this feeling at one time or the other in one’s life. A life well-spent is one which sees your own dreams fulfilled and that enhances the quality of life of your own as well as others’.
The second: Wish I had the wisdom to take life easy and didn’t work like a machine. The point is that one should live a simple life and should work just enough to make a good living. There are other things in life that need your attention too. For instance, the need to celebrate the good things of life, the need to be with your near and dear ones and the need to go around and discover the world you have not explored.
Third: Wish I had the courage to express my feelings. By not speaking out your mind, you are suppressing yourself and that chokes your growth and you are not living your full potential.
Fourth: Wish I had spent more time with my dear and near ones. This one is the complaint of those who are workaholics and repent that they had missed on the good things of life.
Fifth: Wish I had let myself be happier. This comes out as the sum total of the first four wishes; one who has let all the earlier wishes come true would have this as a bonus!
Life is a journey that has to be lived consciously, freely and with one’s own choice. Live for others but not own their terms. In fulfilling your own dreams of great targets, others get benefitted automatically. We are the only species on this planet who can afford to live a well-planned life of choice and discretion. If we take care to do so, we will have no regrets when we are on the verge of bidding adieu.
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