Would You Want to Know Exactly When You Die?

Dark. I know. But I just watched the Time Traveler's Wife, and it got me thinking:
Would I want to know the exact time my number was up?

In The Bucket List, Morgan Freeman's character, Carter, opens the movie by saying:

“There was a survey once. A thousand people were asked if they could know in advance would they want to know their exact day of their death. 96% of them said no. I always kind of leaned towards the other 4%. I thought it would be liberating, knowing how much time you had left to work with. It turns out, it’s not."

In spite of Carter's warning, however, I am pretty solidly in that 4% of individuals who would want to know.

Knowledge is power, after all, right?

Which begs the question, what would I do with the time I have left? I think it largely depends on how much time that is. If I'm dying a week from next Tuesday, my answers would be different than if I'm dying in five years or if I'm dying in another fifty years, making me almost 101.

In any case, I'm taking out a crap-ton of life insurance to take care of my family and getting me a water-tight will.

Obviously.

If I'm dying in a week, I'm going to the beach with my loved ones.

If I'm dying in fifty years, it's life per usual.

If I'm dying in five? That's tricky. It's enough time to still be anchored on this earth but not enough to procrastinate for even a nanosecond all that I still have left to do.

It might be easier to say what I wouldn't do. I wouldn't tell anyone else. Not Sean-Martin. Not Geoff or Janesse. Not my nearest and dearest friends. I would not put that sadness on them.

I wouldn't let things get to me. Former irritants would fade away.

I wouldn't be involved in political rhetoric, save only to let the world know that the world's problems will never, ever be solved by anything so flimsy and flailing. (Heck, I'm practically there now.)

I wouldn't put anything off until tomorrow. If a notion popped into my mind to call a loved one or pay a visit, I would just do it. Spontaneity and I would suddenly be best friends. Maybe I'd give a courtesy call ahead of time. Maybe I wouldn't.

I wouldn't sweat the small stuff, that's for danged sure, or major on the minors. A kiss would be the biggest thing in the world and whoever is the current president would be the least of my worries.

I wouldn't pass up the sweets, and I'd send that treadmill sailing right out of our upstairs window. In fact, that would be the last strenuous activity I would do.

I would only drink the finest wine and tell everyone how much I love them. I would laugh every single hour and tell everyone how much I love them. I would give away all of my things and tell everyone how much I love them. I would cook meals for people and take them over to their houses and tell everyone how much I love them. I would teach kids to read and write what's in their hearts and nothing else and tell everyone how much I love them. I would stop and pet dogs and even cats and tell everyone how much I love them. I would stuff money and candy into people's pockets and tell everyone how much I love them. I would sing at the top of my lungs in public places and tell everyone how much I love them. I would watch stand-up comedy every night and tell everyone how much I love them. I would preach love, love, love, and more love...

...and tell everyone how much I love them.

So that when I lie down and close my eyes for the last time, there will be nothing left for me to do and nothing else left for me to say.

x

And I will go on from here in peace because I had the gift of knowing exactly how to spend the rest of my time.

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Daisy Rain Martin is an author, speaker, advocate, and educator as well as a founding member of The Flying M-Inklings Writing Group. She lives with her husband, Sean-Martin, in the beautiful state of Idaho and teaches English and Literature during the school year to the best 7th graders the world over. Daisy spends her summers writing, speaking, researching, creating, gardening, and canning. Hope Givers: Hope is Here, is the sequel, of sorts, to her comedic, spiritual memoir, Juxtaposed: Finding Sanctuary on the Outside, which was her publisher's (Christopher Matthews) #1 top selling book in 2012. She has also written a free e-book for anyone who has or is currently being sexually abused called, If It’s Happened to You, which appears in its entirety in Hope Givers. Please follow her weekly blog, SATURDAISIES, which addresses a plethora of current issues including child advocacy, all things hilarious, and matters of the heart. She would love for you to join the Rainy Dais Community by friending her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.