As she sat in the audience and listened to me speak, my message struck at Sharon's heart. My words about cherishing each moment of life and not taking each other for granted resonated deeply with her. You see, Sharon's dog Skippy was 16 ½ years old and Sharon feared that he was not going to be around for much longer.

Some sections of my keynote speeches can get pretty heavy. Since I deal with subjects like mortality and death, I never know how I am going to affect people. Sometimes people aren't ready to hear about these subjects, much less actually think about them in any personal way. Other times, my words are just what someone needs to hear.

At one of my recent engagements, I had someone approach me afterwards to tell me that I had helped them come to terms with the death of a dear friend who had died exactly one year, to the day, before my presentation. She said that she had always been uneasy about how her friend had died, but after hearing my story she now felt at peace with the situation.

Once, a gentleman who turned out to be a fellow congenital heart patient lifted up his suit jacket and dress shirt to show me the scars from his heart surgeries. For him, it was nice to connect with someone else who is living under similar circumstances. We ended up talking for nearly 20 minutes after my presentation!

In Sharon's case, she could tell that the end was near for her best friend Skippy, but after hearing my "What's YOUR Expiry Date?" presentation she spoke with me and told me that she had a new perspective on her remaining time with him.

Two weeks ago Sharon contacted me to say that Skippy had died. In her e-mail she said "every day after that (my presentation) was a bonus day." Now I'm not saying that my presentation made his death any easier for her. Sharon wrote: "He was my best friend and I am having a hard time." But Sharon felt that she was able to make the most out of the time that they had left because she approached the situation from the perspective that each day was a bonus day.

My goal in life is to get everyone to realize that each and every day is a bonus day and to live accordingly!

Our thoughts are with you, Sharon!

ENJOY NOW!

Birth and death
are not two different states,
but they are different aspects
of the same state.

Copyright (c) 2003-2004, all rights reserved.
National Library of Canada ISSN 1708-0606

You may copy, forward or distribute Mindful Moment provided that this copyright notice and full information for contacting Patrick Mathieu are included.

Contact him at: http://www.mathieu.com or email patrick@mathieu.com.