...One day, 1hr 57 minutes will feel like a lifetime...
One day you will give anything to have just one more day...
One Day, people in white coats will shake their head before they give you the news, they will start the sentence with "I'm sorry..." and tell you that it's all coming to an end...
People will stand around and look at you through water logged eyes and wish that they'd had more time to play with their Dad or more time to talk to their Mum; and they will wonder why you spent all your time working so hard you missed them growing up...
Someone will get a 'phone call telling them that if they want to say good bye to you, they need to get to the hospital quick; they will drive across countries to get there and miss you by 1hr 57 minutes...
You will trade all that you have just to walk on grass, to hold her hand again just once more or tell him that you loved him, forgive him and that he's your best friend...
You will wish you had finished early and gone to the beach, learnt Spanish, played the Drums or taken up Salsa...
You'll wish that you hadn't been so angry and quick tempered, you'll wish that you could take it back and undo the tears that you caused...
You won't think about your Car, the Rolex the Gucci and Chanel; when you life flashes before you it will be the people not the brands, your relationships not your acquisitions that shine the brightest - and you'll wonder why you wasted some much time on them..
One day you'll remember that you never said "I love you..." enough and didn't walk in the park in the rain at midnight because it's not what grown ups do..
You will look at the ceiling and pray to your new found God that you should be given more time, you'll beg for, and trade all that you have for a few precious hours to make it all right...
But that day is not Today...
This day is a gift - all the things that you'll beg for and give anything to have more of in your final hours, you have right here and right now...
This day is a good day - you are alive and can walk on grass, hold her hand, tell him you love him and that he's your best friend...
You can travel across countries just to say hi and being 1hr 57 minutes late won't make a difference...
Today you can go to the beach, start learning Spanish, play the Drums and begin to Salsa.
Right now you can be kinder to yourself and everyone around you, choose to love and be happy...
This day you can realise it's the people that matter most and not what you pay for but what is given for free - you can pick up the 'phone and tell them what they should hear...So what will yo do with this day that has been gifted - will this be the day that you decide to be different..?
Is this the day that you will thank your future self for when the people in white coats come to you with the news...?
This could be your Matrix moment - question is which one will you choose..?
One Day is Today - make it count...
Epilogue - why 1 hr 57 Minutes counts...
In August 2010, I had the 'phone call that if I wanted to say goodbye to my Dad I had better get to the hospital...
I was in Barcelona, he was in Shropshire in the UK and with no flights, the quickest way was to drive - so I drove through the night like a maniac through Spain and France back the UK...
It is 1750 km from Barcelona to Shropshire and takes 16 1/2 hours to drive...
En route I got a 'phone call telling me that he had gone and that I had missed him. I checked the GPS and I was just 1 hour and 57 minutes away...
In 80 years of his life, I missed him by the most important 1 hr and 57 minutes of it, and I have never forgiven myself...
So now when I do events - I make them 1 hr and 57 minutes long - because I know that that length of time can change a life...
