Facing Death

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas（胰腺） . I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up（守口如瓶的） so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy（活组织检查） , where they stuck an endoscope（内窥镜） down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines（肠） , put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated（安静的） , but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma（教条） -- which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition（直觉） . They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

相关单词：embarrassment

embarrassment解释：n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

embarrassment例句：

She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。

Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

相关单词：tumor

tumor解释：n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

tumor例句：

He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。

The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

相关单词：incurable

incurable解释：adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人

incurable例句：

All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。

He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的，到处蔓延的裙带主义。

相关单词：diagnosis

diagnosis解释：n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

diagnosis例句：

His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。

The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

相关单词：intestines

intestines解释：n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

intestines例句：

Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句

The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

相关单词：sedated

sedated解释：v.使昏昏入睡，使镇静( sedate的过去式和过去分词 )

sedated例句：

She's sedated,but she's probably scared out of her mind. 她很安静，但是她可能已经吓疯了。 来自电影对白

Are you telling me the porn actually sedated you? 你是要告诉我，那毛片的确让你镇静下来吗？ 来自电影对白

相关单词：purely

purely解释：adv.纯粹地，完全地

purely例句：

I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。

This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。