Don't save it for the funeral

An elderly man lay dying in his bed. In death's agony, he suddenly
smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies wafting up
the stairs. He had lived a simple life. He had not asked for much. But
if there is one thing he had always wanted it is his favorite
chocolate chip cookies.

He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed.
Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom,
and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping
the railing with both hands.

With labored breath, he leaned against the doorframe, gazing into the
kitchen. Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself
already in heaven: There, spread out on the kitchen table, were
literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies.
"No…no…no…this could not be heaven or was it heaven?" the old man
thought to himself. Or was it merely one final act of heroic love from
his devoted wife seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table.
His aged and withered hand made its way to a cookie at the edge of the
table, when his wife suddenly smacked it with a spatula.

"Stay out of those," she said. "They're for the funeral."

The question is, "Why save the good for the funeral when it should
have been shared and enjoyed beforehand by the living?" Isn't it a
shame that flowers are given when they could no longer be seen and
words are said when they can no longer be heard.

• "What a wonderful friend she was."

• "He meant so much to me."

• "He was a good man…"

And then some comments reflect the realization that when we had our
chance, we never express our feelings adequately to those we love
while they were alive.

• "I never got the chance to tell him how much I appreciated what he
had done for me."

• "I hope she realizes how much I love her."

The good things you want to do and the good words you want to say,
don't save it for the funeral. Do it and say it now.

I learn so many important life lessons every time I go to a funeral.

Parties? Well, I enjoy them too but the reality is that there is not
so much to learn. So given a choice I would rather attend a funeral
than a party and learn more things about live and living.

And while we are on the subject matter, do not save the best for last.
It does not make sense.

We keep our best china waiting for those special guests to come when
the most special people are with us every day of our lives. We store
our favorite watch wanting to wear it on that special occasion and we
fail to realize that the best time of our life does not belong to the
past and neither is it in the future, it's in the here and now. We
stock and safety-vault the best of our jewelry planning to wear them
for that special occasion but all these does not make sense.

You do not save the best for last; you save the best for now. If your
best is not now then your life is not exactly fulfilling isn't it? You
never know when your best would be but you can always make today the
best it could be.

If someone means something special to you, don't save it for the
funeral. Share it with them now! And do yourself a favor. Bring out
those beautiful and expensive china, wear that expensive watch. Open
the safe vault and enjoy those things for after all they are just
things aren't they?

Here's the catch. Use them for the people you love. You want to be
your best for them.

Honor them by being making the here and now the best moment of your
life and share it with your loved ones.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Work like you don't need
money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's
watching. Live today as if there's no more tomorrow not in a spirit of
carefree abandon or recklessness but in celebration of life as a gift
from the Author of Life.

So spend today wisely and cheerfully.

Don't save it for the funeral
BUSINESS MATTERS (BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE) By Francis J. Kong
Philippine Star, Sunday, September 2, 2007