"The most important thing I can glean from my hospice experience, if I can remind myself to do it often, is to enjoy life and appreciate the minor things I take for granted. If I were told tomorrow I couldn’t drive anymore, I would probably actually relish my commute. If I were to learn that I was going to be in an accident and I couldn’t walk anymore, I’d probably go for a good, exhausting run. Stripped of a long life expectancy, a hospice patient may actually have an advantage most of us don't have – the hightened awareness to consciously appreciate and experience what is left of their lives."
Given that I whipped up over a page of these sorts of paragraphs in the last hour, as I sit blurry-eyed in front of my computer, I wonder, was my parents' hard-earned money for a liberal arts degree worth it? (Let us also recall that my essay-writing skills have already earned me $271 in exonerated fines for a carpool land violation, plus hundreds more in savings from my insurance rates NOT going up as a result of that ticket.)
4 comments:
I wonder how many people who are given the advance notice actually stop and smell those roses. Or are they too overwhelmed to grab that last chance? I hope I get enough forewarning to buy a plane ticket to the top place on my bucket list and kick it at sunset on the beach.
Yes, I'm sure it's pretty overwhelming. I think what struck me is that the people I visited took enjoyment in even the littlest things, like seeing the mail carrier or talking with a stranger, even if they couldn't take a fantastic trip or some other grand event.
Like storing up and savoring every little moment. Good idea.
Yes it was worth it for the liberal arts education :-)
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