If you have only one day left...

This is not a new question. I have seen it so many times. This question reminds us life is unpredictable. There is not always a tomorrow. So do what you want to do now and leave no regret in the future. But the truth is we always assume there is a tomorrow. That is why an accident is called “accident”, isn’t it? Sometimes we leave plans undone because we feel lazy; sometimes we leave plans undone because we live in a real world and there are other boring but important things to do first. It takes some effort to act on one’s dreams. And after all, this question is just hypothesis.

A few weeks ago, I heard Randy Pausch’s story. So this question became his reality. He has only less than six months’ healthy life left. I admire his braveness to face his fate. He decided to live his life fullest for the rest of his time. He decided to build a good memory for his children. He decided to play the card and not complain about the dealer. When watching his speech, it is hard to link him with a dying patient. He is so active and funny. He has the aliveness most of us don’t have. It is a shame that a person who has created so much in his past has no more while those famous celebrities who have everything but only know how to drug themselves to escape “pressure”.

Since last June, I started doing some volunteer work on Saturday. That is a special Olympic Tenpin bowling program for people with special needs. One of the organizers was an old lady. Her daughter is one of the athletes. She was such a nice lady and thanked me every time when I finished. After the last game before Christmas last year, we had a prize giving party in a church. She asked me to come because “it would not be the same without you”. But it was too bad that I did not write down the detailed address. I was a bit busy that day. So finally decided to skip it. Last week was the first game in 2008. Three days before the game, I got a call and another volunteer told me she had passed away. Well, she was old and it was not really a big surprise. But still, it is hard to imagine someone whom you remember so lively has gone. Think about her life, I feel she has made difference to so many people’s life. She was involved in this program for almost twenty years. She is part of this program and she will always be remembered by everyone of us. She might have gone. But she left a great program for her daughter and all others to feel excited about every Saturday morning. I salute her!

Everyone has the right to live the way she/he wants. But I would feel guilty …