11.17.2006

 

How many years would you like to live? For most of us, we would prefer to live more years than less. But did you realize that if you lived on Mercury, you would live 1136 times longer than if you lived on Pluto? Albeit the searing heat of Mercury and the tremendous cold of Pluto would have to be reckoned with, but it's still true. How? It's a matter of revolutions: It takes Mercury a mere 88 days to make one revolution (one year) around the Sun, while it takes Pluto 248 years to make the same revolution.

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It's all about time, my friend, and time is the great illusion. Depending on where you are at in the solar system, time can seem very fast or very slow. Depending on where you are at on the continuum of human life (i.e. infancy, youth, adulthood, etc.), time has a different relevance as well.

Regardless of where you find yourself, the one element of time that remains true is that you have now; the here and now, this very moment. You are alive and breathing and learning - and that's all the matters. It remains unknown if you will be in this physical world tomorrow morning or one week from now or ten years from now... but you've got now.

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How many times have you tried to frantically enjoy the final moments of a party gathering because the event was about to end? How many times have you frantically attempted to enjoy the last day of a vacation, because it was the very last day?

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After dying in a car crash, three friends went to the gates of Heaven for their orientation. They were all asked the very same question, “When you are in your casket, and friends and family are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say about you?

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The first friend immediately responds, “I would like to hear them say that I was one of the great doctors of my time and a great family man.”

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The second friend states, “I would like to hear that I was a wonderful wife and school teacher who made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow.”

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The last friend reflects for a moment and replies, “I’d like to hear them say… LOOK, HE’S MOVING!"

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You are alive and you are moving. So do something brave today and live in each moment. Feel free to anticipate the coming moments, but be sure to live and be present in the one you're in. It will make your journey around the Sun - regardless of how long - that much more enjoyable.