What is your obituary?

Rob Ford has passed away. A sad news for some, indifferent for others, rather most people. Ford was a controversial figure even before he became the mayor of Toronto. While being mayor he got involved in different scams. They say, speak well about a dead man. That set me thinking what will be his obituary?

More than that, it set me thinking what will be my obituary.

We all want to be remembered with fondness and we want our loved ones to miss us. The desire to be immortal in their memories is very strong. But do you want your obituary to be genuinely heart felt or just empty words because one speaks well of a deceased?

There is one thing you can do. Take stock of your life. Where you are, how good is your relationship with your dear ones, how well do you get along with your colleagues, what is your equation with your boss and above all how is your relationship with your self?  Are you at peace? Are you emotionally balanced? Because these factors will reflect in all aspects of your life.

How many times you have been proactive to help somebody, how many times you have lent a shoulder to a crying friend, how many times you have diffused a tumultuous situation.

How do you react in a crisis, how well do you handle stress, are you a whiner or a winner and how do you handle criticism. Do you blame others for your failures or do you take ownership of your mistakes, do you find excuses for tasks unaccomplished or do you find scapegoats.

What efforts do you do to keep fit, how healthy do you eat and what is your routine. Does it have some quite time or are you always busy. Do you take out sometime to be quiet and talk to yourself or you don t want to face yourself. Do you meditate or just pass your time on Facebook and Whatsapp.

How many books have you read in the past one-year, what hobbies have you started and do you have any bucket list? If yes, how many items out of that have you done? How do you entertain yourself? How much quality time you spend with your family? How often you have friends over.

The list goes on and on. Take out half an hour right now, take a pen and a notebook and take stock of your life. After you have pondered over it, write your obituary and then try to live up to it.

So be it!!!