I’ve really gotten into reading as of late, which is something that I never thought would be for me. It takes time, it takes effort, it’s a slow and thorough process. But I love it now because I keep stumbling upon these incredible gems of information; little tiny nuggets of solid gold forged into about 20 words or less, cascaded across a sea of pages laden with ink and sealed between the beginning and the end. It’s become a bit of a treasure hunt each day, and every time I find new diamonds. It’s exquisite.

And my vocabulary becomes increasingly eloquent, as well!

So last night I was reading a chapter from Jon Acuff’s Start and I stumbled upon two very unique questions. Interestingly enough, as the author describes his experience upon asking these questions to himself, I had a very similar experience as I read them.

The first question was actually kind of easy: “If you died today, what would you regret not being able to do anymore?”

Before moving on in this passage I paused briefly and thought of all the things I really enjoy doing – playing bass, writing and recording music, spending time with my wife, visiting with family, …? I’m sure there’s more out there but these were just the first to pop up.

I was instantly struck with conviction because I realized that the words “wife” and “family” were not at the top of the list! But hey, I’m just trying to be honest here. Just the first thoughts in my head. Then I felt even more convicted, being a Christian, because the words “God” and “Jesus” didn’t make it to the top 4 either, though were I to depart from this world soon I’d still have those two, so I let it slide 🙂

I kept reading and noticed Jon came up with similar answers, “Writing, spending time with his wife and playing with his kids.” He too felt the same Christian-guilt I did and justified it similarly. Phew!

But this question was followed by a similar one, and this is the one that really got me – Because we’re talking about death here… These are the things so important to us that once we’re gone, they’re gone too, and there’s no coming back to them. They’re over. No more. Fin.

The second question was: “Are those the things you’re spending time doing right now?”

And at first I wanted to say “Yes, of course.” After all, these were the first 4 that I could think of, they just sort of popped into my head. These are the things I would miss most were I to leave here forever. Obviously they mean a lot to me, so ya, I spend as much time on them as I can.

And then I started to think about it a little more. Well, I did come home late on Monday night and pretty much only saw my wife for about an hour before we went to bed. Then I realized that this was the same for the previous Sunday night, and also for 3 previous nights in the past week. Hmm, I also didn’t practice much last week… I started thinking harder. Man, when’s the last time I called my grandparents? My brother? My parents? I tried to think of how many songs I’d written recently and how much work I was putting into developing them.

You know what? For these being the TOP 4 on my list, it started to seem like they were closer to the middle. I mean, yes, I’m fulfilling them all to some extent (I’m certainly not an absent husband, a slacker on my instrument or a careless brother/son/grandson), but these are THE MOST important things to me. Should I be seeking them even more? Am I at the right place with them? Am I pursuing these passions as much as I think I am – as if they were the things I would miss most when I die?

Of course I can’t answer this question for you, and I’m not even sure that such a question really has an answer at all! But what it does have is perspective. Perspective is fantastic because it gives you the chance to change your answer (with time) if you don’t like it. Or maybe there’s some things on your Top 4 that aren’t as important to you as you think they are, and the amount of time you’re devoting to them is sufficient. Or maybe you’re having a ‘George Bailey’ moment and realizing that your priorities are out of order. Who knows. I don’t!

Ask yourself these questions though and see what you come up with. Family is an obvious one, and I don’t think you’ll need any convincing to spend more time there. But what about music? Bass playing? We all like to say that we love it and we want to know more about it and that it’s one of the most important things about our lives… But is it really? Are you really treating it like it’s one of the things you’ll miss most? Are you spending the kind of time with it that one of those Top 3 or 4 or 5 requires?

If not, then now is a perfect time to start. After all, you’ll only have the rest of your life to do it 🙂