A Mindful Poem

Here's a really rather wonderful poem by a fellow funeral celebrant, Jonathan Taylor, who works down in Devon. He is part of the Green Fuse network. It seems to me a mindfulness primer, a miniature tutorial in how to live well; I think I'd trust a man who can write this to see me off under the ground! The "hinge" in the middle works so well, and the last word makes what seems to me, coming after the rest of the poem, a profound point.

Well, see what you think.

My Last Day

They say live each day as if it were your last.

Well, I ask you, how impractical can you get?
If today had been my last day
I wouldn't have wasted it going to work!
I'd have gone to see my loved ones
to tell them of the joy they give me;
how their love has enriched my life;
how sad I am to be leaving them alone without me;
to be leaving the world where they live;
how full of regret I'm feeling.

They'd get pretty pissed off with me if I did that every day.

I've got a better idea.
Why not live each day as if it were your first?
You'd spend your life marvelling
at the fabulous, vibrant, living world around you.
Taking nothing for granted
you'd rediscover love every day.
You'd always be aware of what your loved ones mean to you,
how they delight you even when they're being horrible.
You'd want to give all of your love
to anyone who cared to receive it,
to share in the miracle of life with every solitary and universal heartbeat.
You'd trust anyone,
unless they proved themselves unworthy;
and you wouldn't care if they did -
wisdom would be their gift to you.
You'd be happy,
and free,
and every moment would overflow
with ridiculous promise.

Let the first be first
and the last be first.
And then move on,
unready.