"Live like you were Dying" is the name of a famous country song. Through this song the singer,Tim Mcgraw, and the songwriters Craig Michael Wiseman, James Timothy Nichols and Tim Nichols, share a message; to live as if you only had a few months left, so that you will cherish and enjoy every moment. The grind and responsibilities of daily life can distract a person from their core purpose and from prioritizing the activities and people that are important to them.
I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
...And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter...
"Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying
My concern with this philosophy is that a person cannot succeed in life when focused on death and mortality; life is vibrant only if you live vibrantly. You can only set goals and pursue them with vigor if you are visionary and forward thinking. The doctor would have never started med school if he thought he would die before he graduated and the great Torah scholar would have never even begun to learn the alef bais. It would be naive to take the message of this song literally; rather common sense is needed to know when and how to internalize and personalize the insights expressed in this poem.
However the same way the phrase "Live Like you were Dying" is a theoretical concept that elucidates a concrete principle, so too, the other side of the coin, "Die like you were Living", when applied in the right context, can bring great insight and inspiration.
Through the course of their life most people face great pain and suffering, either through direct experience, or by witnessing the challenges and failures of someone they care about. The death of a loved one, cancer, romantic breakups, economic failure and a miscarriage are just some of the struggles human beings face on this earth. The journey to success is filled with more doubt than certainty, while tranquility and happiness often seems to be just beyond our grasp.
Despair is an understandable emotional response to a situation that seems to offer little hope for the future. Although the effort seems futile, if you try to improve your situation, at least you will go down swinging. You will witness dividends from your effort and be able to share these blessings with the people you love. Even if you don't beat the cancer; you might live one extra year, meet someone you can encourage, or at the very least, experience one more moment of hope. The addict who succumbs to an overdose, or the suicidal schizophrenic who does not make it to the hospital, if they made the effort towards rehabilitation and a greater level of functioning, they will die with the comfort of knowing that they tried.
When the rat race stops you from focusing on what is important in life, follow the advice to "Live Like you were Dying." The phrase "Die Like You Were Living," advises, that in your moment of despair, focus on the goals you can accomplish, the goals that are within your reach, regardless of what is happening around you, and irrespective of the greater heights you wish you could have attained. When you feel hopeless and confused, because you are dying, or because you feel like you are dying, continue to make the effort to improve your matzav*.
Similar to the miner who found oil in the act of searching for gold; whether or not your shovel hits "gold," you will still find yourself ahead. Live or die, at least you will be happy.
*Matzav- situation/ environment/ lot in life.
Check out the chorus and other key phrases. I also included links to the full lyrics and to videos of Tim McGraw and Zach Seabaugh, another country artist, singing this song. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/timmcgraw/livelikeyouweredyin.html
Live Like You Were Dying
I asked him
"When it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How's it hit you
When you get that kind of news?
Man, what'd you do?"
He said
...And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden going fishin'
Wasn't such an imposition...
I finally read the Good Book, and I
Took a good, long, hard look
At what I'd do if I could do it all again
And then...
I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying"
And he said
"Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying
Like tomorrow was a gift
And you've got eternity
To think about
What you'd do with it
What could you do with it
What did I do with it?
What would I do with it?
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