Got thirty seconds?

What matters most?

That was the question posed at work recently at our team offsite meeting. About nine of us sat around a table to reflect on this question during a team activity.

“Close your eyes for a minute and think about all the pleasant and happy moments in your life” said the facilitator who was orchestrating this team exercise. The room suddenly fell into deep silence for a whole minute in stark contrast to the vibrancry of the interactions that were taking place till that moment.

A minute went by. “Keep your eyes closed. Now imagine that you have only 30 seconds to live. Think about what part of your life you wish to relive in your last 30 seconds” went facilitator voice that had seemingly taken control of everyone’s mind.

The silence persisted. 30 seconds went by. “Open your eyes now” said the facilitator. We opened our eyes with smiles to see that we were all still alive!

The facilitator continued: “Let each of us now share what was most important to us that we’d want to relive in the last 30 seconds of our lives”.

The people in the room spoke up with varying degrees of emotion.

“I want to see my wife walk down the aisle in the church towards me as I wait to hold her hands in marriage” said one as tears welled up in his eyes.

“I’ll hold my new born” said another.

The next person said “I’ll have my little girl sit on my lap and will watch Barbie on TV with her any number of times. The peace that I felt having her so close to me and being a part of her world is the most precious”.

“I’ll relive that moment when I felt a deep sense of calm and fulfillment when I saw my adult children speak with confidence and conviction assuring me that I had raised them well and that they’d do well after me. I don’t have words to convey the joy” said another.

“I’ll relive the last 500 feet of my ascent to the top of Mt. Whitney. I thought I was going to die and each step forward made me realize the value of my life. I thanked my parents for brining me into this world”.

This short activity made us all reflect on what matters most and express gratitude to the people in our lives that make our existence meaningful.

We might be pursuing many interests throughout our lives but the truth that it is people and relationships that matter the most should guide us every day. There is no need to have that awakening in the last 30 seconds of our lives which nobody knows when that will be.

Do you have 30 seconds every precious day to think about your final 30 seconds?