If You Knew You’d Die Tomorrow
what would you do differently today?
One of the things death teaches us is to DO ALL THAT WE CAN with our limited stay on earth. And this is not limited to the spiritual realm only.
Yes, as a Muslim, I know the importance of racing to do all that is good and acts of worship so I can meet my Lord with a scale of good way higher than bad.
Another way that I look at death is that it forces me to think about things I can and should be doing NOW, to give my all to the things I care about and not hold anything back.
Most times, I have noticed that one of the greatest challenges to this is the fear of not being enough or the fear of people’s perception and critique of our work.
Death is constant.
Whether we do what we feel we should or don’t we will die anyway.
Whether we live our lives, tell our stories, and share our unique experiences or not, we’d die. Anyway.
Whether you pursue those ideas or not, you’d die anyway.
And no matter which route you choose you aren’t free from the talks and critique of men.
If you’ve ever experienced a near-death moment, I bet you would have a new mindset about life and the urgency you have to be vulnerable and do as much as possible, that you can before you die eventually.
Steve Jobs was right when he said:
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.” — Steve Jobs
I want you to take a moment to think about this:
If you knew you’d die tomorrow, what would you be doing today?
Spiritually and in your life matters; what will you prioritize and give your all to?
Forget about what people will say and do it now. Be vulnerable and pour out your uniqueness to benefit the world.
This is when you’d find true meaning to life, and joy.
I find reading biographies important and as a reminder for me to do all I could while I can. On a spiritual note, I read the biographies of prophets and righteous people. I read about the heroic lives of the men around the messenger — the likes of Umar, Abubakar, Bilal, Uthman and others — how they live their daily lives like they were their last.
I read about people who defied all odds to achieve greatness for themselves and their communities. Men whose names continue to flourish on our pages.
When you look at it, thinking about death teaches us how to live, meaningfully.
I recall watching Ali Banat’s interview when he was diagnosed with cancer. He was a wealthy man whose life changed as soon as he was diagnosed with cancer and given a 7-month term to live. His life changed drastically as he prioritized charity and devotion to God — what he wanted to be known for after death. He died on 29th May 2018 in Ramadan. May Allah have mercy on him.
Just like Ali Banat called his stage 4 cancer “a gift from God” so does Jane ‘Nightbirde’ Marczewski who was given a 2% survival chance from her cancer diagnosis.
Don’t be let down by your thoughts about what people will say. They’ll talk anyway, whether you do something worthwhile or not, whether you act or not. Let death be your motivation, to live — to not be afraid of being vulnerable and to do all those things that matter to you. One at a time.
