Passing on a great short story someone passed on to me today. Great reminder to make use of our time here—we never really know when we might wake up dead.

I Woke Up Dead this Morning
By Richard Parsons

I woke up dead this morning, and I was quite surprised. I felt pretty good when I went to bed last night. I wasn't expecting this so soon. At least it seems to have happened too soon. God, where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday I was a kid shooting spitballs through a straw and being sent to the principal's office to see the much feared Gertrude Collins and her aerodynamic paddle. Where has all the time gone?

The coffee tasted about the same as usual this morning. The headlines in the newspaper were the same as any other day. Different day, same bad news. I took a quick glance at the obituaries to see if I had made the morning edition, but realized that it was too soon. Except for me, no one else knows that I'm dead. Gosh, it might be days before anyone realizes that they haven't seen me or heard from me. This should prove interesting! It's not like I can pick up the phone now and call someone to let them know that I'm dead.

I decided to go for an early morning walk. It was depressing though, because when I said "good morning" to people, they didn't make eye contact or give any form of reply. They acted like they couldn't see me or hear me, but that was really no different than any other day in the city. In the past, I always chalked it up to their being preoccupied with their busy lives. Now I was beginning to wonder if I had been dead for longer than just today. For an instant I thought that perhaps they were the dead ones and I was still alive. Then I said to myself, "Who would want to be alive in a dead world." On that sad note I turned around and went back home for another cup of coffee. This being dead thing was really starting to bother me.

Just the other day, I was telling a friend about all the things I still wanted to accomplish with my life. Funny now that I said that I didn't fear dying, but rather feared not living. I first made that statement over five years ago when I had my first heart attack and wasn't sure if I was going to live or die. And now, as Job said, "That which I feared has come upon me." If I were still alive, what would I do differently today? Well, that thought is, as they say, a day late and a dollar short. Am I really dead?

All of the sudden, I'm not sure. Being alone, I don't have anyone to ask. God, how many nights have I gone to bed with a bit of sadness and fear about being alone. How often I've thought that if I were to get sick during the night, or needed help, who would be there for me? And if I died, who would know? Hey, is that my phone ringing? Gosh, if someone hears my voice, that means I'm still alive. Hello, hello! Ah shit, just my luck to get another automated telemarketing message. Ironically, this one was advertising life insurance. I should have pressed option one to speak to a live agent, but I thought I'd be bored to death listening to elevator music for 30 minutes. Bored to death! Wow, that statement takes on new meaning now. Actually, I'm bored with death. Come to think of it, what happened to that white light and those angels who were supposed to transport me to the pearly gates? Perhaps there's an energy crisis in heaven too. And God probably had to lay off some angels due to the poor economy. I guess things are tough everywhere.

My mind keeps going back to what I said about my fear of not living. I thought perhaps I would be wiser after death, but I still don't know why I put things off when I was alive. I guess we all think we have plenty of time, and we'll get to those important things tomorrow. Then, suddenly, like with me now, tomorrow never comes. I wanted to get back to writing. There's that book I've been working on; there's those short stories I wanted to write; there's things that I wanted to learn yet. I wanted to spend more time with my grandchildren. There were plans and ideas to help others that I wanted to implement. The older I got the more I realized that there were many dreams still locked inside my spirit, and there was my God given potential that I hadn't fully lived out yet. Now I'm really angry with myself. I hope God forgives me for disappointing him. He invested a lot in me, and I'm not too sure that he received as much return on his investment as he had hoped for.

Perhaps there are other dead people out there who are angry at themselves for the same reason I am. Hey, maybe I could organize a therapy group. We could call it the How to Cope with Regret group. Actually, I would rather be alive and offer a group for the living, especially for those who are like I am, or rather, like I was. People who put off living fully till another day. I would encourage them to "do it now." And I would do another group for those who have no clue about the treasure that's inside them because they're spent a life time believing the lies they've been told about themselves. And yet another group for those who go through life being complaining victims instead of taking responsibility for their lives by putting the word act into action. Of course I won't be able to do those things either. At least now I have a real excuse because, I woke up dead this morning.

Life really is about loving more, learning more, laughing more, giving more, and growing more. Life is about more! It's about abundance; overflowing abundance, not for collecting, but for the joyous giving of ourselves. We are most alive when we live. And we live by discovering the abundant treasure God has placed within. And not just discovering it, but also doing the hard work of digging it out.

I think I'll have another cup of coffee while I wait to see what happens next. I feel very cold now, and the light is growing dim. Mom! Dad! Is that you?

Oh my God! What a nightmare! I dreamt that I woke up dead! I am alive! Thank you God for one more day to live. I promise to live it fully. Would you help me, please? I don't want to wake up dead.

Live fully!