Does ‘Live Life to the Fullest’ Bother Anyone Else? New York Sun reporter

Someone gets cancer and it seems like immediately the nicest people in the world (often strangers) are advising him or her, “Live life to the fullest.” Only problem is: What could be harder than that? Don’t yogis spend their whole lives trying to reach the point where each moment is significant? And now we’re telling sick people, “You do that, too (in between chemo), or you’ll be wasting whatever time you have left.” Anyone else have any feelings about how to live life to the fullest and why we insist people who are ill do just that?

Here was Brad’s response:

We are all dying. That’s a fact. From the moment we’re born, we are all edging ourselves towards the moment of our death. This fact is driven home most succinctly when we’re given a grave prognosis such as a diagnosis of cancer.

Suddenly, this fact that has been in the background of our awareness takes the driver’s seat, not only for the person with cancer but for those around him or her.

So, we’re reminded that given that we all have a limited amount of time on Earth, it’s our ‘job’ to live it to the fullest. But what does that mean? I believe it means to know your true purpose in life and to allow that purpose to shape each and every moment.

It’s my view that our life purpose isn’t just about what we’ve come to this life to accomplish. It’s what we came here as a spiritual being to be and to experience. When we’re in touch with this greater context, it has the power to shape all of our life no matter what the circumstances. Even circumstances the size of cancer.

I’d love to hear your take on this question as well.