If These Were My Last Days - TribeSteemUp's Bi-weekly Question

The other day I came across a question by @porters she asked as a prompt for @tribesteemup's bi-weekly inquest into our deep thoughts and feeling, and also creativity for answering it. She posed the question back in July, and in another comment the deadline was supposed to be Sept. 2nd. So either way we turn it, the two weeks time-frame has passed long ago. Still, I thought I should attempt to respond to it, because it's an interesting subject, to say the least. The question was the following:

How different would your life be, if you knew these were your final days?

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An Ancient Question

This reminded me of a question my 12th grade English teacher asked us, trying to elicit ideas on what the soon-to-be high school graduates in her class should do with their lives. Her question was the well known "if you were financially independent... how would you spend your days?" but with a twist: She added a terminal illness that would give us only one more year to live.

Not surprisingly, the kids in my class mentioned the most typical things they filled their days with anyhow: going to parties and concerts, spending time at the skater park, making love to their boyfriends / girlfriends, etc. Some people challenged themselves into playing music, or picking up an instrument they hadn't tried. A few even talked about family, spending time with their parents and siblings. As for me, it was clear that I wanted to travel (just as I was doing already), and similarly to my honest classmates, I admitted that the terminal illness and financial independence just made me want to do more of it.

I don't know if this exercise had its desired results, since most of us focused on the same activities they were involved in already. There were a few people who said they would continue studying biology, as that was the thing they wanted to do anyway. Therefor, there was not much difference to skateboarding or lovemaking, except that neither of the latter activities were likely to be pursued professionally. Or who knows...?

A Look at my Life Today

As much as I may complain about the city I'm living in, with all its horrible aspects, taking a minute to consider @porter's question honestly, I have to come to the conclusion that I really would not do much differently. I probably would not even leave the city... at least for now.

Sure, my immediate impulse would be to say: I'd get on my bike and keep riding it till I can't ride any more. On the way I would stop by various sites where natural building projects are going on, volunteering some of my time there, and I would continue to see as much of the world as I could.

... BUT ...

But even if I knew I only had a limited lime left, I probably would not abandon my current project, which is writing a book about my last bike journey (because the thirty-three posts I published just don't seem to do justice to the the whole experience). Really, I can't see myself going on another adventure until that one is properly written down.

The other reason I couldn't just get up and going is my wife. Though I think if I was terminally ill, she would probably get up and going with me. Maybe not on a bicycle (most probably not), but we'd find a good compromise.

Taking the Lesson

Using the same conclusion my high school teacher intended for us, I want to apply it to my current situation: Keep doing what you love doing! So I'll continue playing with my dog, making love to my wife, posting on Steem, and composing the book on my journey. I would probably stop working at my jobby-job, though, a language school with increasingly abusive practices.

Completing my book before my untimely demise would be a good goal to strive for. And then, if I'm still alive once it's been published, I can look around for more adventures, bike rides, and construction projects. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what I'll do anyway. Besides, for being a thought experiment, there is always a chance that we might just kick the bucket any time. So I think I'll keep working on my book once I've posted this reply.