The big wake up call

I talk a lot about living life to the fullest. I'm a big believer in helping everyone to live the best life possible. However, I must admit that even I need a reminder from time-to-time to stop and smell the roses, be in the moment, and truly live. I like to call this little reminder a wake up call. Arguably, the biggest of all the wake up calls is the near death experience.

A near death experience will have you checking your priorities faster than any self help guru, book, or televangelist could possibly accomplish. This type of wake up call lights a fire under your butt like no other. It's unfortunate that so many of us fail to take a good, hard look at our lives until we are forced to. I think we all know better, but we get so caught up in the monotony of day-to-day living that we forget that there are more important things in life.

Oh, why am I talking about this subject? Well, that answer is simple. This past Labor Day I nearly broke my neck and drowned. Having grown up in Hawaii, I am a very good swimmer and body surfer. I'm not sure what happened on this particular occasion that was different. All I can say is: sometimes stuff happens. Sometimes stuff happens that alters the course of our lives in an instant, and that is why we must live the best life we can now. There may not be a tomorrow to try and get it right.

Fortunately, I survived - all praise, and honor, and glory be to God for getting me out of that one. I am in some awful pain and have some scrapes on my face, but I am alive. This was a huge wake up call for me. I hope that by talking to you all about this you will not wait until something like this happens to you before you start living the life you always meant to. Start living today. Don't put off the changes you desire for tomorrow, because tomorrow may be too late.

For a picture of my beat up face, check out my twitter profile. Don't get so caught up in everyday life that you forget to truly live. All of us need a reminder every so often, myself included, but don't wait for something terrible to happen before you catch the hint. Live, my friends, I mean, really live. Have a blessed week everyone!