Last day of life
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
(English: Today is the first day of the rest of your life.)
Coretta Scott King - widow of Martin Luther King Jr.
Imagine you only had one more day to live.
What would you do?
This question has been on my mind a lot over the last few days. Perhaps because my birthday is coming up in April - and it often makes you think a little. And then I remembered: Jesus knew exactly that he only had one day left to live.
Jesus knew that he only had one day left to live.
How did he live that day?
Whether you're a believer or not, it's blatant how normal he lived the last hours before his capture.
- He served his friends. Washed their dirty feet. On the last day of his life, he had nothing better to do - voluntarily chose nothing better - than to make life easier for others.
- He ate well and celebrated. It was a big Jewish festival.
- He has remembered marvellous things. He remembered the special moments. The dramatic and miraculous liberation of his people from captivity in Egypt.
- He still gave his friends input. Told you what was important to him.
- He took time for singing and prayer.
- He healed what others had broken. No, it's not a good idea to cut someone's ear off!
- He was ready to go and emotionally honest. He openly expressed his pain and sadness, his loneliness and his disappointment.
What a well-lived last day!
I thought: I want to spend my last day like this.
And actually not just the last day. But every day of my life.
A vision for every day of life
I think that's enough as a vision of life:
Live every day as if it were the last -
and provide it with all the essential Elements of life that really count.
- Living relationships
- Dreaming visions
- Creating meaning
- Don't forget to celebrate
- Reflect and grow
And I want to live emotionally genuine and transparent. In full jubilation, but also in pain.
Perhaps you will take some time right now or in the next few days to reflect on your last day on earth. And all the days before.
Tip:
It can be helpful to look at the 8+1 central elements of life that you need for a strong, balanced life. You can find an overview here.
A vision for a lifetime
I think realising this is quite enough as a vision of life: living every day as if it were the last.
You could actually stop here.
But I know from many people that they long for a clear vision for their whole life.
With good reason.
Why a life vision is so important
Studies show: People with a clear vision live healthier, happier and even longer lives.
- A long-term study by Patrick Hill (Carleton University, Canada) shows that people with a purpose in life have a significantly lower risk of dying - regardless of age, gender and social status.
- Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that a strong vision of life is associated with lower levels of inflammation in the blood and greater well-being.
- In positive psychology, "purpose" - the meaning of life - is considered one of the strongest predictors of resilience and mental health.
If you know what you get up for in the morning, you will be better able to cope with difficult times.
How to track down your vision
Maybe you're thinking now: Sounds nice. But I don't really know what my life vision is.
That's okay. It rarely just falls into your lap. Sometimes it's like a mosaic - made up of lots of little moments, wishes, memories and longings.
A few questions that can help:
- What would I do if I wasn't afraid?
- What has made my heart burn in the past?
- What traces do I want to leave behind - in the world, in hearts, in trees?
- What stories do I want to be able to tell when I'm 90?
My very personal vision
I have summarised my life vision in a simple sentence:
Becoming a cool old lady - and making people and trees grow.
- people through coaching, books and training.
- trees through a reforestation project in Tanzania - around 20,000 euros are still missing to complete the project. If you would like to help: Click here for support.
Sometimes it also helps to look back at how you were as a child. The foundation for a vision of life is almost always laid in childhood.
A little boy I sometimes babysat for in my student days loved books about planets and stars and couldn't get enough of asteroids and black holes. When I met him again 20 years later, I asked him what he was doing now. He was studying aerospace engineering!
The story of Sir Richard Branson is even funnier. He was not born a Sir, but was later ennobled by the Queen for his entrepreneurial and charitable achievements.
He wrote on Instagram (10 April 2025):
"When I dropped out of school, my headmaster told me I would either become a millionaire - or end up in prison. A prank from my school days reminds me why!
There was a large horse statue on the school grounds. One night, shortly before the end-of-term picnic to which all the parents were invited, I filled the huge horse with water and drilled a hole in the end of the horse's genitals. Then I stuck a cork in it and attached an invisible fishing line to it.
When the parents gathered the next morning, I pulled the string, the cork popped out - and the animal let it run all day. I hope I didn't rain on the headmaster's parade too much!"
What creativity! You have to come up with that idea first!
And how good that he uses his talent for innovative solutions not for criminal activities, but for the good of the people. But the traces of his dreams and visions can also be found by looking at what he enjoyed doing as a child.
I've always loved plants, even though gardening was never really my thing. And when I was 10, I dreamed of going to Africa and teaching people there...
And you?
Feel free to write in the comments what you liked to do as a child and what it looks like today.
Invitation to reflect
Perhaps take a few quiet minutes over the next few days to think about your last day on earth. And about all the days before that - and those that will hopefully come.
What if you lived every day in such a way that you could say at the end: "I lived this day really well. Not perfect, but good!"
If you like, you can find here an overview of the 9 central elements of lifethat can help you to see and live your personal life vision more clearly.
Maybe you want to go deeper?
See the bigger picture even more clearly?
Develop a well-formulated and sustainable life vision?
If so, it's not that difficult to get to the bottom of it.
I have completed an online training programme for Life vision where you can recognise more clearly which vision building blocks you already have, how you can track down your wishes and how you can put everything together. To find out more, click here.
On Insta you can hear my thoughts in the original.
