Life Is Too Short
I guess I always knew this but as I get older I seem to realize it more and more. When we are all younger we seem to put things off until — as they say — "one of these days." Every day when I walk into my office I see a framed picture of my favorite professional football player of all-time. His name is Walter Payton and he played for the Chicago Bears. The picture is a good one although meaningless. The caption under it is everything to me. It reads:
That was so true for Walter who passed away at a very young age of a rare disease.
Because life is too short, if there is a hobby you wanted to start, you should. If there is a marathon you want to run, (congrads KHL) do it! If there is a mountain you always wanted to climb, (congrads SH) plan on doing it in 2008. If there is an organization you wanted to join or donate some of your time to — 2008 is the year. I believe if you set your mind to it anything is possible.
As 2007 comes to a close and 2008 starts, please remember life is too short and if you want to accomplish something, I for one say do it now.
What am I going to do you ask? I always wanted to play professional baseball. Well 
clearly that time has passed. However, I could easily relive my childhood and go to a baseball fantasy camp for a week. Get ready KW, RH, JB and others, because I will probably be asking you to join me. I am going to start to looking into it and plan on doing that in the next few years.
What are you going to do?
I look forward to your comments.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:04 am
You cinched it. I have always wanted to spend Thanksgiving working at a rescue mission or feeding the homeless in some way. In 2008 I am putting my wife on notice that — damn the family — that’s what I’m doing for Thanksgiving 2008.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Tim,
Good for you! My cousin did that last year and said it was very rewarding.
I look forward to hearing all about it.
Merrill
December 28th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Ed Sugar and I have a pact. We are going to go to Glasgow in 2009 to see the Rangers play Celtic. (See, Ed, I’ve actually put it in writing and made it public). Still a few things to iron out (like whether it will be at Ibrox or Parkhead and making sure we are getting tickets on the Rangers side).
December 28th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Hi Merrill,
Happy Holidays!
Thank you for the thought. Other than starting my long sought after Masters education, January 9th, 2008, I will take on the possibility of flying lessons (given my poor vision, I’ll have to assess the feasibility)! As a child I dreamt of being an airline pilot!
Thanks for rekindling that thought.
Happy New Year,
Fee
December 28th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Good Morning Merrill,
Over the past 30+ years, the phrases ” Life is too short”, “I’ll put it on my list for tomorrow” and one of these days” seem to be very common phrases in my life. There will always be a tomorrow, and quite honestly I am thankful for that!
We’ve known each other for a while, but my guess is that you do not know this about me… I am a fanatic about the night sky. I love the moon in all its phases, I love the stars and the stories they tell, and being a bit of a romantic, I love a full moon with Van Morrison singing in the background his song Moondance. I can play his music over and over and not tire of it. I have over the years tried to see Morrison in concert and he seems to only play in pubs across Europe. Similar to your baseball desire, I have always longed to see this artist (before he or I get too old!). Just now I googled and Morrison is in Ireland in March, so …..TODAY, because of your email, I am going to plan a trip for MARCH. I have visions of Patrick and I (the Irish Galloway’s) celebrating St Pats day in Ireland under a full moon with Morrison. My husband thinks I’ve lost my mind, as I am sure your wife and Tim’s will think of him… but thanks for the inspiration.
Wishing everyone a wonderful 2008 ! ~ Elisa
December 28th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Merrill, I totally agree with you! In my 20s/early 30s, I was very focused on creating financial and career success, often putting off “real life” dreams. That all changed a few years ago when I gave my son the gift of a 2-week trip to Japan. It turned out the gift was as much for me as for him. Not only did we get some great bonding time and have once-in-a-lifetime experiences together, but I realized that it is completely possible to life a rich, full “real life” while also managing my businesses and volunteer life. More than “possible”, it became a necessity.
Since then, I’ve taken a 2-week vacation stretch every year …. and in 2008 we’re upping the ante. The goal is at least 6 weeks off …. we’re renting a house in Dublin, Ireland for a month in the summer and our hope is to take the big new boat to the Bahamas for a couple weeks next winter. We all know that what we focus on gets done - so focus on bringing some of those big dreams into reality!
December 28th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Bob - congrads. I am sure you and Ed will have a great time.
Fee - that is fantastic to hear!
Elisa - Good for you I am so happy and honored that the blog was the straw that broke the camel’s back and made you make the reservations.
PLEASE SEND PICTURES!
Merrill
December 28th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Life is too short and I had several experiences to remind me of that fact. I was in a near fatal car accident where I was pronouinced DOA. Thankfully, I was revived and the whole experience made me realize that I had been taking life for granted, at the age of 21. It totally changed my outlook on life in a very positive manner. In addition, I lost my parents in the prime of their lives, (early 50s), which also taught me to treasure the people you love, while you have them. Now, when I wake up each morning, I try to live the day to the fullest, whenever possible. One thing that I have been meaning to do is to finish the book I started writing right after the 3 months in the hospital as a result of my car accident. My goal was to write about my experiences to give people hope and to give additional insight to the medical profession. Due to your reminder and inspiration, I have set my mind to finally finish the book in 2008. (I will be sure to send you one of the first copies!) Another thing I have always wanted to do is to sky dive. I realize that is now not realistic, so I reset my goal to go hot air ballooning, which I will definitely do in 2008! I’ll post the pictures to prove it, once I take the “up, up, and away” trip.
Hope you all have a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2008!
Best regards,
Ginger
December 28th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Ginger,
I never knew about your accident or your parents.Thank you so much for sharing. I am sure that was difficult to write.
I look forward to reading your book. Put me down for a few autograph copies.
Speak to you soon.
Merrill
December 30th, 2007 at 6:52 am
This personal exploration is surely appropriate at this time - we look to make resolutions for the New Year, most of them being things we would like to accomplish in the next year or in our lifetime. It is easy to think about things like travel, experiencing things like sky diving, rock climbing, flying an airplane - all things I would surely like to do. The one thing I always come back to are the people in my life. When I think of life being short, I really think about the time I need to make to spend with family and friends. These are typically the most enjoyable parts of my life - yes, going to the world series is wonderful, but much better enjoying it with my friends. Going on a safari in Africa (one of my things to do) will be a wonderful experience but surely sweeter with my family. As I was exchanging emails with a very close cousin in SF this week, we talked about getting together in the next few months to spend some quality time like when we were younger. To me, this is where the phrase “life is too short” comes in - it would be ashame if we did not get the chance to spend that time together.
If we had the opportunity to speak to those who passed away early in life and ask them the question what would they like to have done, my guess is you would hear a lot about the time with family and friends and the appreciation of each day (carpe diem - seize the day).
December 30th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
I used to sing back in High School. The Madrigal group I was in actually sang at the NY World’s Fair. I want to take voice lessons this year and get my voice in shape so I can sing 2 songs well. One is the Ave Maria, which in my family has very special meaning. The other is the National Anthem as my dream has always been to sing it at any sporting event that will have me. This will not likely happen but at least I’ll be ready!
The other thing I want to do is play the ukelele again. I happened to mention that I used to play to my husband and he surprised me with one at Christmas. I have discovered playing the ukelele is not like riding a bicycle…I am struggling. The ukelele is bigger than my original one and my fingers aren’t. But I am determined to master it.
I wonder how the National Anthem would sound on the ukelele?
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
This certainly is a timely entry! Interestingly, over the holidays, I spent a week in Little Rock at my parents 20 acre home. (They retired there a year ago after living in CA for over 60 years.) While there, I read your book club choice, “Working Like a Show Off”, which JR gave me. While I believe in many ways, I live my life to the fullest that I can, this book really inspired me to do MORE. (I highlighted the heck out of it for 5 other people I gave it to.) Because of the tranquil setting, versus my usual chaotic life, I was able to write each of my 4 children (as well as a couple of other key people in my life) a hand-written letter about what they mean to my life. I intentionally did it by hand and absolutely had the thought in my head that in the event I’m not around some day (hopefully not for at least another 40+ years), they would have a piece of me to go back to when they need a “connection”. It was such a liberating thing; I spent 2 hours each night (from 10pm to midnight) writing; 1 letter each night, and gave it to them on Christmas morning. I can promise you it was the best gift I ever gave them and cost me nothing more than TIME and THOUGHT.
Likewise, because I chose to travel home on the 23rd of December, I fully expected a “complicated” travel day. I didn’t necessarily expect 28 hours of travel (1 cancelled flight and 4 delays) on 3 hours of sleep, but that’s what my 7 and 16 year old and I experienced. At the airport in Little Rock, as you can imagine, people’s tempers were short and there was a lot of anxiety. Because my ultimate goal in “living life to the fullest” is to be the best person I can and to teach my children how to react in a positive manner when things don’t go smoothly, I became the airport “cheerleader”. My little one had a backpack so full of American Girl dolls, clothing and hair accessories that she was tipping over backward. After about 6 hours, some of the kids were going a bit crazy so I told Maddy to break out her goodies. We set up a table with all her stuff and had about 6 kids (including 2 boys) enthralled for over 2 hours. They were doing cheers for me, playing with the dolls, play shopping, etc. All of the adults at 2 gates were laughing, taking pictures, etc. I even had one woman leave her 11 month old and 2 year old with me for over an hour while she went to get something to eat. (Yes; a little scary and something I would personally never do, but I guess I give off a trusting demeanor!) I kept reminding people that I’d rather be grounded in Little Rock than in an unsafe plane to NOWHERE.
When we arrived in Dallas around midnight, there was a group of about 10 people in the hotel bar/restaurant and every one of them came up to me and talked about how watching the kids have fun made a difference for them. My point? THAT is what life is about….making connections, no matter what life throws at you. Maybe it’s in a very profound way and MAYBE it’s just by making someone else smile. I met the most amazing people and have a memory that I’ll never forget, and most importantly; I taught my children how to make lemonade!
The one thing I am going to do this year, other than to continue making as many connections as I can, is to take guitar lessons with my 7 year old. Look out…I don’t have a creative bone in my body so it should be interesting!
Thank you, Merrill for posting this article; I truly enjoyed reading EVERYONE’S entry and it was a great way for me to start my first day back at work after being out for almost 2 weeks. I wish you all a happy and MEANINGFUL 2008!
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Amy,
Good for you. Lots of people who experience delays lose their mind and get crazy at the airport. I am so glad you were able to make the most of it.
Lots of people can learn from that lesson.
Also glad you enjoyed the book - it was an easy read but I personally had some solid take aways.
Happy New Year!
Merrill