Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same. -Og Mandino
“That is some proposal,” I thought, when it came into clear view at five o’clock in the morning, a couple of weeks back. A request like this one, upon waking, brings a person to their senses in no time. I immediately recalled recent moments when I have regarded those closest to me contradictory to this statement, not to mention the strangers on the street I have barely acknowledged.
To live with such intensity requires an awareness not easily diverted by flippant thoughts of self-indulgence and petty fears. This guileless dare evoked a composed response, while I sat munching on my breakfast of strawberries and peaches. How do I begin? It sounds simple but must be tougher than it looks, or else everyone would be doing it.
I started with the people I consider nearest and dearest to me. To look someone I love in the eyes and understand where he or she is coming from, without contemplating my own wishes, puts my unspoken tactics to the test. Not an easy undertaking, but definitely a skill worth polishing.
A few days ago, life permitted me an opportunity to take on this challenge with flying colors. I didn’t do so well. Instead, fear hindered my empathy and provoked a defense mechanism, which disabled my capacity to love wholeheartedly. Love is not always the easiest option, but I know when I choose it over all other responses, even the most unexpected results are easier to swallow.
Hindsight is 20/20. Circumstances can change in an instant. And if we are lucky, we eventually learn to love those closest to us as if they are going to be dead by midnight. It may take a bit longer than I would like, but I’ll keep practicing until it becomes second nature.
