How much time do we have?

In 2004, a friend gave me the debut album of the English guitar rock band, Razorlight. I was immediately struck by the energy of the music. Enthusiastic music, every song getting to a wild climax. 3 years later, they released their second album and this time the music press caught them and wrote them up to the sky. They became very popular and played all over the world in ten-thousand-people halls. A promising future ahead of 4 young musicians. Now, 5 years later, the press has dropped them already, (they found new heroes) and Razorlight does not even sell out the 1,000-person venue where I am watching them tonight.

But still… their music is full of energy, the musicians play like every song is their last song, like the have to give all their energy. The crowd hardly moves, the audience doesn’t sing the songs along like they did 2 years ago, but still… they are playing like this could be their last contribution to the world.

Imagine, 29 years old, already on your return, and still so generous. Where else do you see those examples? Weirdly enough, it reminded me of people who have faced terminal diseases and still survived them. People who looked death right in the eye and got away. After those kind of experiences, people often develop a sense of urgency and a sense of ‘no matter what’ in realizing their goals. Sports champions like Lance Armtrong and Maarten van der Weijden show us what phenomenal achievements can be realized after being on the edge of life.

Why do we wait for those incidents? Should we wait? Obviously, I would say… NO! I am not a fan of the saying: ‘live every day like it is your last day’. It's too fatalistic, with a tendency to hedonism. And playing like my last 4 minutes have started would not be very healthy to keep up for 24 hours a day. (Even that band played for only 50 minutes). But I once got the question in a Landmark course: What would you do if you would now enter your last 4 weeks. Well, at least I would then have time to make a list of all the actions I would come up with.

A beautiful girl reminded me of that question this afternoon. And, as if the band knew it, they gave an example of what might happen if you would give it all.

What might happen is… pure magic.

I'm thinking of all the irrelevant discussions I have never completed, all the nice things I still have to say to my friends. Sure, there are things like making the trip around the world or eating Tiramisu all day long. But the most inspiring and yet very easy thing to do is sharing with the people around me. So that is what I will take on for the next four weeks, and you know what? Maybe, I'll still be alive after those four weeks and then… I will continue!

You are invited to play along ;-)