I wrote my obit today. Strange thing to do on a beautiful, sunny day, maintaining good health, good friends, a loving wife and family. I wrote my obit to find out what I had to say about my life heading into my 6th decade. The easy stuff was the resume covering a career in broadcasting, teaching, and not-for-profit work. What I wanted to discover was if my values, what I had learned, translated into an actionable presence here and now.
And so I rewrote my obit. I shoved all the accolades, radio station stops, Crime Stoppers travels way to the bottom. At the top, after you name your family and relatives, I emphasized, from my experience, what I believe to be true and worthwhile, a statement about what I stood for and hoped others could discover for themselves.
Isn’t that what we ultimately want to pass along? Isn’t this why we work, write letters, have conversations, spend time with others; to convey our deepest hopes and wishes to those who will live across the expanse of time after us?
Write your obit. Think about putting at the top what is most important about the life you are living today. I believe that’s the most assured way of living out your values right now verses others regretting, in your passing, they didn’t know you better.
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