Life Is a Gift: How My Near-Death Experience Taught Me How to Live by Marc Gabriel Amigone

Life is a gift. Never take a single second for granted. We all think we believe in aphorisms like these, but it took falling 10 feet in a climbing accident and breaking my neck for me to finally wake up and truly believe them. Every day since then, every time I move my fingers and toes, move, dance, shake, hug, cry, laugh and breathe, I become increasingly grateful to be alive.

Coming close to losing something makes you realize just how valuable it is. Impermanence makes life precious. Living for the moment makes life joyful. Being is an active process. Time is our most precious resource. Never waste opportunities to express how you feel. Don’t assume that person/job/experience will be there tomorrow. Live for today.

And the most important thing to realize: you don’t have to undergo a traumatizing experience to arrive at this conclusion! Now is your chance! Breathe deeply and say a prayer of gratitude (to the universe or your conception of god, whatever works for you), and I promise, your life will be improved by keeping the realization of how incredibly lucky you are in your immediate consciousness. 

Life is a gift. Never waste a single second.

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