I swear, every moment gets that much more precious the less of them you have left. None of us really knows how much time we have left, but death stares us in the face a bit more every day as we age, and things start to happen to our bodies and minds that remind us… tick tick tick.. our time on earth is extremely brief.

Why did I come into this room? How did I get that bruise? Why does my leg/back/arm (insert body part here) hurt all the time? Where did I put my (insert object here – glasses, car keys, phone, baseball card collection, lawn mower, etc)?… these things start to happen as we age. We deal with physical and mental deficiencies we didn’t ever have before. We struggle more to stay fit. We can’t do things we used to take for granted. We start to see the posts on our high school reunion page more frequently about classmates who are no longer with us…

Time will kill us all.

One day, it’ll be our name on that list. And how will we be remembered? And… is that even important at all? Maybe we should just live our lives the best way we can without worrying about how we’re remembered. It seems to me that in some ways the people we remember most fondly probably didn’t spend much time wondering what people would say once they’re gone.

I’m just really feeing it more these days. Feeling the wonder and awe of every moment. Why did I get this body? How did I get here, living this particular life? How do I want to live going forward?… what is important to me?…

Ah – there it is. What is important to me?

Every now and then I have to remind myself that maybe work shouldn’t always be number one on that list. Because that is for sure where I’ve spent the vast majority of my time and efforts the past twenty years. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. I love it. And I’ll be doing it for years to come God-willing. But it takes precedence over almost, well… it takes precedence over everything in my life. Damn German work ethic! I got it from my dad, I think. Wherever it came from, it has a tendency to take over.

What about family? What about fun? What about staying fit mentally and physically?…

I heard an interview the other day on a sports talk show where they said Andy Reid, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs has a slogan for the team that I know many other coaches and teams adhere to: FAITH – FAMILY – FOOTBALL. In that order.

Made me think. Business is #3 on their list…

Maybe I need to rethink my priorities. When was the last time I meditated? Faith is number one on that list. And faith is the first thing that gets pushed back when business calls. I don’t even remember the last time I spent time in conscious contact with God. I could do better.

I’ve blown off a number of family events due to work, too. Granted, this summer is slightly unusual with the transition to a new company going on there, but… I could certainly do better.

And none of it matters if I allow the daily stress to take its toll on me mentally and physically. That kind of stress makes us tight and short with people. Always on edge. Not enough sleep. Too much food, bad food, late night eating… doesn’t do anyone any good.

The way I see it health always has to be a huge priority for me, and that starts with waking up sober. Sobriety is a big deal to me, but so is spending time maintaining my physical and mental well being. I could do better.

The people closest to me probably feel taken for granted. I’ve had that problem my whole life. That one kills me to admit. There’s no way in hell I want that to be how I’m remembered. At all. I could do way better here…

So, I’m incredibly grateful again today. Grateful to be alive and given this amazing opportunity. Grateful for all my family, my friends, my co-workers, my clients… and this moment in time.

Sitting in awe and wonder. Hoping you know the feeling. Looking forward to doing the best I can to use my moments wisely going forward.

Because all we have is “now”… and it’s gone. Our moments are fleeting.

How will you use yours today?