death | Life Experiences & Observations

October 6, 2016

I Once Answered “Death” to an Interview Question

This story I am about to tell happened a long time ago when I was returning back to Arizona after finishing college. What got me thinking about this story is the article “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.” It’s an article I read a few times a year just to help me put things in perspective. Who in their right mind would answer “death” to an interview question? Perhaps somebody who doesn’t want the job. Well, the answer is ME and I DID want the job. I obviously didn’t have much interview experience at the time as I thought being as honest as possible was more important than painting a picture that made me look like the most desirable candidate. In hindsight, sometimes both may coincide. In this case, they coincided pretty closely but not close enough to get me the job.

So what was the question? The question was, “What motivates you?” Back then, and even now, death has been one of the best motivators for me. As a result, I can officially say I have one thing in common with Steve Jobs. Yeah ME!! It may sound morbid but when you dig deeper it really makes a lot of sense. Knowledge that life is short and the time you spend on earth is uncertain, can definitely get you up and moving to make progress on your goals. That’s all I really wanted to say today. Another blog post in the books. Now go do something because you will never know when that day comes in which you can’t “go do something.”

April 26, 2014

Life Appreciation Elixir – 15 Movies to Motivate

In times of struggle and hardship I tend to gravitate to watching movies about death which inspire me to cherish life. For most people that are going through tough times, they try to avoid any items or things that remind them of negativity. That’s just not me. One time in an interview for a position at the Multiple Sclerosis Society, I was asked “What is the one thing that motivates you the most?” My answer, which I was hesitant to reveal, was death. They admitted to me right then and there that it was the most profound answer they had ever heard. I am not trying to brag, its just what happened and shows the true motivating factor that death can provide. Just ask the departed Steve Jobs.

Last night after waking up from my early evening nap, I decided to finish watching the movie “The Bucket List.” I had started it earlier in the day and really wanted to finish it despite it being 27 minutes past midnight. Of course I first had to finish my blog which had me admitting failure of accomplishing my April blog-a-thon goal. I have seen the move multiple times and to this day it is one of my favorites and always seems to make me cry. I cling to this movie in the face of troubled times like a security blanket. Below is a list of 15 of my favorite movies I like to watch when I need a little does of life appreciation elixir.

Beaches
American Beauty
The Bucket List
Schindler’s List
The Doctor
Mr. Holland’s Opus
The Pursuit of Happyness
Dead Poet’s Society
The Shawshank Redemption
Good Will Hunting
My Life
Grand Canyon
Pay it Forward
Rudy
Life is Beautiful

I could include links or descriptions for the movies above but if you have not already heard of them you are just going to have to discover them for yourself. After all, isn’t that why they invented Google? So next time you having difficulty appreciating the preciousness of life, trying watching one of the movies above. It may just light a flame of motivation underneath your ass. What are you still reading for? Life is short, stop reading and start doing!

April 24, 2014

Medical Roller Coaster

I wish I could say I was a new rider on the medical roller coaster but I am a seasoned veteran. It’s kind of par for the course when you have a special needs child, two parents growing older in which one has heart disease and diabetes, a father-in-law with Parkinson’s, a dead friend from HIV, various co-workers get thrown out of the seats of life, and myself in multiple car accidents. Of course there is always too many funerals to count due to close relatives passing away. Their amusement tickets have clearly expired. When you think through medical incidents in your life you may start to get depressed. But there are two things that I have begun to realize:

These unfortunate incidents happen to everyone and are just twists and turns in the coaster ride.
You can’t truly appreciate the good without some of the bad.

Sure there are always going to be people that have it better than me but there will also always be people that have it worse. With just over 7 Billion people on earth you have a much better chance of winning the lottery twice than being the person that has it the absolute best or the absolute worst.

What has me thinking about this today is two events. My youngest daughter having an MRI today to finalize whether or not she will need growth hormone injections due to a deficiency and my Dad having colon surgery tomorrow. Both instances would probably freak most out big time but my oldest daughter has already been taking growth hormone for years and my Dad already survived triple bi-pass surgery years since past. Welcome to the silver lining that turns to gold.

You have to appreciate what you have. Being 42, my life could very well be close to half over. You have to appreciate the upswings of the ride or the downswings will dribble your life away with you not even noticing. Welcome to my pick you up post. What do you mean it’s not working? Thanks for being my unknown therapist and reading through my blog today. You will probably be the one view in my blog stats that I check later this week. One is better than none. Yes, I still stick to optimism like duck tape sticks to scorpions. Never mind, that analogy is just for us desert dwellers.

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September 21, 2013

Rainbow of Another Life

Life’s emotional pitchfork

scares me like a blade of danger.

A soulless wrinkled casing is prepared for disintegration

as the rainbow of another life rises into the air.

The sky cries steel

while a pirate smiles, a crescent moon.

The genetic chain is the glue of guilt

from my 31st cousin, the human race.

Everyday

is my day of mourning death,

and my day of celebrating life,

for the rest of eternity.

Tag: death