Yes, you read right. What if you died today? What if you just went to bed and never woke up? What if you went to work and never came back home, but joined your ancestors? Sounds scary, doesn’t it?
I know death is one of the last things that comes to mind while we are alive. We wish life will continue and be full of fun. But let’s face it, the time will come for us all to die and be laid to rest. The time will come for people to mourn for us. The time will come when we shall be no more. That time is going to come when we shall be lifeless, and have no idea where our mortal bodies lie.
My intention for writing this is not to scare you. But to stir in us the reminder that the set time will surely come for us to die. While at that, what will be said of you, of me, and of us when we die? What will people say about us when we are finally laid to rest? Will it be said of us to have been kind to all we came into contact with, or that we treated people with disdain and disrespect?
What will the history books of the world tell about you? Ultimately, what can you tell of yourself? You see, many of us have been made to believe life is all about living for ourselves. We have been imputed with a false sense of selfishness. That it is okay to desire to live the best of lives for ourselves; graduate from school, get a good paying job, marry that beautiful or handsome spouse, bring forth to those nice children, and then live life a day at a time.
Indeed, I am not against such a school of thought. But I believe life is bigger than that. Life is not just to live for ourselves. Life is for all. Your life was given to you to be of help to the rest of the world. Come to think of it, how would the world have been if Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, told himself that he would just live all for himself without doing anything for humanity? How would our lives have been if Bill Gates didn’t give his life into transforming the world of personal computers? How about Steve Jobs? Would you have had the “i” devices you have all around?
One of the things that should engage your mind as you live through life is what kind of legacy you will leave behind when you die. No one will remember you for the big cars you bought for yourself. Or the huge mansion you built overlooking the beach. What we will remember you for is how you impacted lives positively. How you touched the lives of those you came into contact with. The smiles you brought to the desolate, and the hope you brought to the broken hearted.
Don’t live life all for yourself. Think of others, too. Shannon L. Alder, an author said it better; “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” Don’t die with all that is inside of you. Live your best. Share as much as you can; for life is best lived when shared.
By: Jonathan Adzokpe
