
It was one day before my birthday meethi called me and as promised she presented me a book i thanked her and left for the day and was busy taking birthday calls so i couldnt get a chance to read atleast the author's name but today before calling it a day lazily looked at the book but when i saw embossed lettering. "An Hour to Live, an Hour to Love" by Richard Carlson and Kristine Carlson it captured my entire attention i quickly turned the book over to read the main reviews listed on the back cover. And then my heart stopped beating for a moment. A stillness descended upon me. I felt the nearness of truth. Of love. My eyes fell upon these words...
"On their 18th wedding anniversary, in 2003, Richard Carlson (author of the bestselling Don't Sweat the Small Stuff) presented his wife, Kristine, with a short manuscript called An Hour to Live. He imagines he has an hour to live and poses questions originally asked by spiritual guide and author Stephen Levine: whom would you call? what would you say? and why are you waiting? Uncannily, the text foreshadowed Carlson's death three years later, at age 45, of a pulmonary embolism. Though he had no chance to make that last phone call, his wife (and the reader) already knows his feelings for her and their children. We also know what was important to him, which boils down to the old chestnut: no one, on their deathbed, ever wishes they'd spent more time at the office. Included in the book is Kristine's tribute to Richard, called An Hour to Love. Both pieces (only 50 pages and padded with Richard's favorite poem and blank pages for the reader's own answer to the key question) are heartfelt—and oddly unengaging.
It took 30 minutes to finish the book and after that my eyes were filled with tears my throat tightened i was in complete shock i remained silent for some time ,i never felt like this before i could feel the pain piercing ,it was suffocating it was so wierd as if i have done some thng wrong or i have not done a thing in my life ,trust me it was hard to explain what i was going through ,the only thing i can remember is Richards favorite poem by norma cornett marek ..
TOMORROW NEVER COMES
If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly, and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and a kiss and call you back for just one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would tape each word and action, and play them back throughout my days.
If I knew it would be the last time, I would spare an extra minute or two,
To stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming you know I do.
So just in case tomorrow never comes, and today is all I get, I'd like to say how much I love you, and I hope we never will forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you will sorely regret the day
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss,
And you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear,
That you love them very much, and you'll always hold them dear.
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay,"
And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.
Poem written by
Norma Cornett Marek.
You know, it may seem natural for many of us to far too often ignore the fundamental tenets of a successful life until it is too late. This powerful little book is such a great reminder of the importance of living every day like it is our last.
if we all take even a moment to think about it we know in our hearts that when we look back on pur own lives we realise we had worried about small things which seem very irrelevant when we have one hour to live..
As we always saw in our day to day busy routines our priorities are different ,we work for things which will be of no use when we leave this place we always crave for materialistic things leaving behind the basic essence of life ..
First thng i could do is to associate my self with richard/audience what would i do in that situation ?
whom will i call ?
what will i say ?
how best i can use my vanishing time ?
though it sounds wierd to actually think and put ur self in this situation ,just think if u have one hour to live , our calls,meeting,goals,ratings,promitions,salary,hike,winning,losing,credit,debit,property,money every thng for which we lived this life struggled every single hour seems un important.....
Life has definetly changed for me after reading this ....
I think my first call would go to my parents and my brother whom i love more than my self ...
Thanks meethi for the lovely book... god bless u



