"I should have ____ "

"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows." —Michael Landon

We have all heard the saying, "Life is too short not to enjoy it."

Recently I figured out that a person who has lived to age 70 has existed for 613,200 hours. In my opinion, this is far too much time to spend on this planet and not enjoy it.

The irony is that today could be the last day you or I have the privilege of being the occupant of a human body on this planet, yet we just trudge along, mistakenly believing we have an unlimited amount of time to spend, waiting until things are just so before we feel fully alive and can do the things that really call to us.

It's interesting to me how so many of us tend to put off living our lives to the absolute fullest, enjoying every microsecond of it, because we are waiting for something to change or get better, which we expect/hope/pray will be no later than tomorrow.

The hook with that idea is that when tomorrow gets here it will be today. As John Lennon sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

At different intervals throughout this day, I invite you to stop whatever you are doing and breathe into the present moment and see if you are doing that which brings you joy, contentment and fulfillment. Perhaps it is not so much "what" you are doing as it is "how" you are doing it that matters.

Are you living your life today in a manner that adds a smile to your face and to the faces of those around you? Are you living consciously in the precious present moment at hand, drawing the most from it and giving the most to it, or are you simply enduring another day, waiting for tomorrow to show up?

It's easy to become so obsessed with the "problems" looming in front of us or the things on our todo list that we forget that this could be our last day on the planet.

How sad it would be if we drew our last breath thinking, "I should have " (fill in the blank).

The truth is, this is it.

This is as good as it gets, at least for today, and that's all you or I have. So, what ever "it" may be, take Michael Landon's advice and do it.

Just remember, one day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.

Dennis Merritt Jones is a local spiritual mentor, keynote speaker and author of the book "The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life." Contact him at www.DennisMerrittJones.com.