Never lose the childlike wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us.
It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.
I’m sorry I won’t be around to raise my kids. It makes me very sad but I can’t change that fact, so I did everything I could with the time I have and the time I had to help other people.
Someone’s going to push my family off a cliff pretty soon and I won’t be there to catch them and that breaks my heart. But I have some time to sew some nets to cushion the fall so that seems like the best and highest use of my time and I better get to work.
—Randy Pausch, October 23, 1960-July 25, 2008
If you had only six more months to live, how would you spend them? That’s a classic question for getting in touch with our deepest values. It reminds us that fulfillment doesn’t lie in achieving some future dream. It comes from living deeply today. Randy Pausch understood that, and by the way he lived his last months he has inspired millions of people. He was a living example of Oprah’s words of wisdom:
Don’t live for yourself alone….To be happy, you have to give something back.
And Randy was a happy person. One of the most touching parts of his story for me was the April 17, 2007 entry on his personal website, where he kept people informed of his progress fighting his cancer. In it he said he tried to keep a positive attitude, but he couldn’t be sure about how he was doing. Then he received this e-mail:
… I happened to have been behind you for a few blocks as you were driving from campus last night (Monday). Before I recognized it was you, I found myself thinking, “Gee that guy is really enjoying the moment…..driving down the road on a warm, early spring evening, top down, wind blowing through his hair, with a smile on his face…..probably headed home to a wife and maybe a little one or two……that’s the way to live life.” And then you turned left and I recognized it was you. I then found myself thinking, “It’s Randy! He looks so happy! And…I can’t imagine anyone who IS living life more. No one is more deserving!” Thanks for sharing your happiness/your life so fully with so many of us…….on campus and in your car. You can never know how that glimpse of you tonight made my day, reminding me of what life really is all about…”
Amen to that. Thank you, Randy, for being such a great example of a life well-lived.
What about you? If you knew you only had a few more months to live, how would you spend them? What are you doing today to create a well-lived life? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Thanks to Evelyn, Cathy, Tim and Shun Jian for commenting on last week’s post.
Jean –
What a heartbreaking story. A man of greatness has gone from this earth but he certainly has taught us how to remain positive and upbeat in life. Years ago when I was a child, I saw a hindi movie in India. This movie was about a person who knew that his life was short yet lived life for others. He was full of life and that’s how I wanted to live a life. Randy is a hero and it’s lot easier to follow him now if life ever takes the wrong turn.
Shilpan
I read the news about Randy’s death with sadness. It’s hard not to feel anything because his book and the last lecture have been so inspiring. He created an impact that reached the whole world, even though he was near death. How many of us would have done the same?
Evelyn
Evelyn Lims last blog post..Confess Your Secrets
Shilpan,
I agree. We don’t have to become famous to have a well-lived life and to inspire others. But he has become a great role model for millions of people. Sooner or later we will all have to face our own mortality, and it helps to have good examples.
Evelyn,
We can’t know how we will react to a given situation. I, for one, try to associate (in person and by reading) with inspiring people to increase my chances of behaving well. 🙂
Thank you both for coming by and leaving comments.
Hi Jean,
Thanks for those wonderful pictures of Randy, his wife and his kids. The email is an amazing testimony to how Randy Pausch lived his life. To go forward with that kind of courage is a lesson we can all take to heart.
Nick
Nick Grimshawes last blog post..
Nick,
Thank you for coming by and sharing. I’m with you, I can use all the inspiration I can get. We never know what’s going to happen in life. I do know that reaching out and sharing with people is one of the best ways for me to develop courage.
What a wonderful tribute to Randy. I was saddened the day I heard of his death. The “Last Lecture” speech was very inspiring for me. As well, I am currently reading the book he wrote with the same title. It is all so powerful. He really was a great example of living life to the fullest.
What really hit me in your post was about living deeply today. This is so important to having the life we desire. And yet, sometimes I just feel like I’m not hitting that mark. Maybe we all have days like that. In any rate, I am reminded that I can really work to “live more deeply” everyday. And that’s a good thing. In fact, in honor of Randy, and special thanks to you, that will be my goal for the rest of the month of August. To really work at having a deeply meaningful month.
Lances last blog post..Simple Fun
R.I.P Randy, I love how the community has came together on this one
You will be missed, but never forgotten.
Cheers,
Glen
Glen Allsopps last blog post..Beginner’s Guide to Meditation
Lance,
I think it’s important to remember that living deeply doesn’t always mean we’re having fun. Even during the times when we feel stuck, when it feels we’re walking through quicksand, we can still be living deeply if we welcome those feelings and see what’s behind them.
I enjoyed your video of the water slide. I, too, think simple fun is the best. When my daughter was young we would have a good time walking or riding our bikes downtown to do errands. We also have some land up in the mountains and worked on all sorts of projects together as a family. Those are still some of her happiest memories. I think one of the best gifts we can give our children is to enjoy the “little” things in life.
Glen,
Amen to that!
Thank you both for coming by.
Randy was and is an inspiration. Our comments here are a testament to his legacy. What I am taking away from this, is to go help someone else, to make my life meaningful by giving to others. If I am able to do that, I will have achieved my purpose on this planet.
Paula,
Good for you! Please let us know how it goes.
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Paula,
For me it’s spending time with my youngest as much as I can without crimping his need to be alone and do his own thing.
We go to the beach alot and he’s on a high school surf team and hopefully this year he’ll be on competive team. One of his goals has been practise so he can be. I love spending time with my family and recently went to a three day family reunion. This last weekend it is always so good to see everyone and see and hug them. They are getting fewer and farther between since everyone is having more health problems. It one of those times you wish time could extend itself and three days could be more like a week. Its hard to get to visit with everyone enough.The stories, the jokes and all the laughter….smiles and love.
One of his coaches passed away last year from cancer. A dynamic teacher and they had a paddle out over the summer.
This was one of his inspiring statements…. Just Show UP!
He loved the beach and surfing… And He was an Kick up a notch kind of teacher. And the shirts they made up for his walk at a cancer fundraiser was …Never Surrender!
OOPS…Jean and Paula and all,
Jean,
I have been reading alot on cancer and healing…
And would love to hear some your thought s on quantum physics theory aas its applied to cancer?
Personally I have read few ideas on the subject…Quantum Healing…And talk to some currant researchers up at City of Hope… they had some pretty great research going on up there. Now there a place some work needs to be done to get some shelved products off the shelf. Sitting there and the politics goes on…not always for highest good… I had talk with them it was frustrating they said… Email me if you’d like…
Diane,
I’m glad you have such close relationships with your family. It sounds as if there are a lot of people at your reunions.
I like what you say about spending time with your youngest and still respecting his need to have his own life. That’s a hard transition for the parents to make sometimes.
too painful right now. after just losing chris.
i believe in reiki. and the power of the mind.
chris did not believe that and she chose to fight
through chemo and radiation and still lost, as did
randy.
wilf, the little polish sheepdog had 3 days to live and
that was over a year ago. he’s in remission. my little
zekey, also a pon, died of cancer a year ago.
i cannot fathom this disease.