Reflections: 15 Minutes To Live…
“We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reflections: 15 Minutes To Live... time to love and reflect at Lake Mapourika
Today, I signed up to participate in a 30 day Writing Challenge called #Trust30 which is organized through Seth Godin’s The Domino Project, and inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance which they will be republishing in celebration of Ralph’s 208th birthday… The basics of the Challenge are:
#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.
When you sign up, at RalphWaldoEmerson.me, you commit to participate by signing a pledge; it confirms your agreement to follow the pledge details which are: Read the daily prompt they post from an original thinker and doer on RalphWaldoEmerson.me. Blog, journal, or create something on each of the 30 days, and if you choose, tweet your post using the hashtag #trust30 to show your support and involvement.
When feasible, I will add my answers to each prompt on my blog. Otherwise, I will add my reflections to a private journal offline. The key is to write/respond to the daily prompts. Do join in if you’re looking for new topics to write on and/or you’d like to participate in a supplementary writing exercise. It is not in conflict with our Daily Post prompts; it just gives us more options for our daily writings.
Now to answer the question of having 15 minutes to wrap up our time on this beautiful planet earth. The first thought that came to mind after my initial reaction to the prompt was … Of course, we turn to those we love to thank them for their loving care, their patience, their concern, and ask for forgiveness for any harsh words, slights or angry outbursts. As I thought of what more to do in such fleeting moments, a line from one of my favorite poems came to mind “What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?” It is from Leisure by W. H. Davies and I’ve added the full poem below. I think another thing I would do is to turn within; a prayerful moment of reflection for the life I have lived, offering/accepting forgiveness, and sending showers of gratitude to friends and angels, in the form of strangers, who crossed my path. What about you? What would you do? More below…
“So much of our time is preparation, so much is routine, and so much retrospect, that the path of each man’s genius contracts itself to a very few hours.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reflections: 15 Minutes To Live... Appreciation and Gratitude Na Pali Coast, Kauai
Leisure by W. H. Davies
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Life is fleeting and while we enjoy it when we have it, eventually, it all does come to an end. This is not morbidity but reality, and once we come to terms with it, we can live our lives purposefully and richly. I love the poem because it is a reminder to enjoy the daily gifts of nature, a good meal, a chat, a hug, a kind word, a dance… I will hug my loved ones; one and all, and shower them with kisses and blessings. Perhaps, if there is time, we’ll share a meal and say a prayer and … stand and stare. What about you? 😉
What are your thoughts? What would you do with your 15 minutes to live? What would you remember? what would you forgive? Do share! Thank you. 🙂
This post was inspired by a prompt from RalphWaldoEmerson.me: You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. 2. Write the story that has to be written.
Positive Motivation Tip: Enjoy the life you have and cherish all in it – Tempus Fujit.
Related articles
- Ralph Waldo Emerson – Self Reliance Prompt #1 (miriamgomberg.wordpress.com)
- 10 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes (holykaw.alltop.com)
- Hey, thanks. This life is awesome. #trust30 (caelanhuntress.com)
- Trust30 – Motivation for a month to get yourself writing (writingiscake.com)
- Self reliance (sashadichter.wordpress.com)
- Reflections: From Anger to Awareness… (eof737.wordpress.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: Photo of Lake in New Zealand, Leisure by W.H. Davies poem, and Na Pali Coast via Wikipedia
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Hi Elizabeth,
This sounds like something I need to do!
But I signed up for a new challenge yesterday — hmmm, will see if I can swing three.
I thought the same thing when I got the email… Then I figured I’ll post from #trust30 when feasible and do the other prompts offline. We can only do what we can…. TY! 🙂
I love that poem. Enjoy the project.
Thanks Tilly, I love that poem too… You know you can join in and follow the challenge at your own pace? 🙂
“So much of our time is preparation, so much is routine, and so much retrospect, that the path of each man’s genius contracts itself to a very few hours.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
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our daily early morning genius’ 15 minutes is to write an article for wordpress, isn’t it?
It is miracle that we can live and write a blog each other.I appreciate the happy life.
I am doing this one too, I admire Ralph Emerson and this challenge. Life is so much fun!
I can’t think of anything I’d have to forgive since, for the good of my own heart, I work on that ongoing. That’s not to say something new might not come up at the end, though I hope I wouldn’t.
I couldn’t be certain until I go there, but I believe my last minutes in this case would be very similar to yours. I’d like my last words to be comparable to one of my friend’s mom’s last words: “I only wish I had more time to let everyone know how much I love them.”
Love that photo at the top. Have fun with the prompt, E.
First I have to tell you how amazing the 1st photo is. It looks like a dream.
Secondly… I want to know where you find 48hrs. in a day. Do share that secret!
Lovely post and good luck with yet another project!
b
Not only does this challenge make you reach deep inside of yourself but you meet all kinds of great people through the process. I am looking forward to reading more of your prompts! Miriam
I think I would love to lay in a meadow and watch the clouds blow by!
sounds like a fun challenge…i’ll be waiting to read your posts 🙂
Good luck with the new challenge (where do you find the time?)
I love that poem, it’s so true; I remember it from school and it touched me even way back then, as a child.
What a powerful prompt. Life is so fleeting and most of the time we don’t even know it. To stop each day and consider if this is the end, what would I be doing, thinking, being??? Then pause from time to time to do, think and be because we really do not know when our time will come. Could reflect on this for a very long time. I like the challenge. I feel the urge to join, but I’ve taken on a lot lately. Not sure I could follow through with the commitment. Then I would have the whole guilt thing to work through. Post the prompts. When I can join in I will, when I can’t I won’t. Thanks for a magnificent post. BTW, the photos are stunning, both of them.
Cecelia
I love the top photo of the lake, it is beautiful and so serene. The relections of the simplicity of life, as one needs these moments to regroup and be in touch with what is important in our life. I would love to do the prompt-but time is not on my side. But, will enjoy reading the posts.
Only 15 minutes? My initial thought is I can’t do very much in 15 minutes. But I actually do a lot in 15 minute increments every day, and would have to remember that in the last 15. That would bring me mostly joy.
Beautiful photo!
Hi, Elizabeth. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for this wonderful post. You have a gift to create words that uplifts the spirit, touch the heart and makes the mind think. As for my last 15 minutes, I would have done the same thing. I would tell my family that I love them , ask for forgiveness/extend forgiveness, to say goodbye and offer assurance that I would always watch them even when I’m no longer present in this Earth, to ask forgiveness to my God for the many times I done him wrong. And you are very right, the reality is Life is fleeting, it’s a borrowed time and soon we will all pass and live everything behind. We need to enjoy today and make sure that the life we chose to live is fruitful, meaningful, worthwhile and has created a positive and memorable impact and change in others. Beautiful post. Have a blessed day!
I just got signed up and am doing it – had a problem and they didn’t e mail me but now I have a page dedicated. Eliz I love The Cause my Matthew Barnett and I am excited to see what you think of his book too some time. Great blog
Like Penny, time is not on my side either to participate, but it is certainly a question worthy of contemplation. It should crystalise what is important in life.
Both the photos are stunning!
I haven’t posted for several days…my daughter and her family are expected tomorrow, we had out-of-town friends visiting…so much to do and not enough time to do it.
So, Eliz, your post came just in “time” because it helps me to focus on what is really important…not the getting ready, but the moments we spend with our loved ones.
I am going to check out the Emerson challenge…perhaps I need a fresh writing focus for a while. 🙂
Unbelievably beautiful lake photo with the fog in the background! 15 minutes til the end? I think the idea is less about the last 15 minutes than to provoke us to live life as though each moment is one of the last 15 – to act and do and recognize the beauty, awe and gift that life is. To give up complaining about the small stuff and focus instead on all the wonder of life. Thanks, Elizabeth. (Emerson’s quotes are amazing!)
There is something peaceful at looking at life realistically. After all we all die but knowing that we do can mean that we can live our lives with intent and meaning!
It looks like such a great challenge! I think of taking it myself