We just got back from a celebration of life. A very old friend of my husband's that he had not seen in over 20 years has recently passed away, and I did not know him. I had never met the guy, but somehow, I got to know him through the testimonials and the stories. It made me realize something important... Keep reading or watch the video below for more.

I fell in love with the guy. What a man he was! I wish I had met him, and it got me wondering. What are the main things that everybody was talking about? There were three big themes that kept coming back, and no, it was not about which truck he used to drive or the size of his house, nor was it about the type of boat he owned.

1. Smile

The first thing that everybody talked about was his smile. They said he was always smiling, that he was always positive and that he kept finding something good in everything. He had something fun to say about any situation, and he was kind and caring... Just genuinely happy, you know?

Let's fast forward a little bit when thinking about our future: Do we want people to remember us as a smiling and happy person? Nobody would show up at eulogy time to say how negative you were, and how you saw the bad side of things, right? "I remember this person being very rational and safe, and making sure that we could always see the negative side of the medal." I don't think this is something that people would actually point out, but the fact that somebody is always looking for the good side of things has been noticed in that man's life.

2. Be Present

The second thing that everybody said is that you knew when you were with him that he was listening to you, because he looked at you in the eyes. He was a great listener and he really paid attention and was dedicated to whatever he was doing. He was present, he was there. He was devoted to his children, to his wife, to his friends, to the people around him. Wherever he was, he was there, fully present.

That's one thing that we all have to learn from, I believe. In fact, personally, this is something that I have to work on, definitely. I seem to be more "through time", always knowing what's next, and getting ready for the next thing, and looking at my watch to make sure I'm not late for the next appointment or the next meeting. Sometimes, I forget to just be in the present right now.

3. Live

The third thing that everybody mentioned about him was the fact that he lived. He lived. He would just figure out a way to make things happen, he was an organizer. He always made sure everybody had a good time. He had a good job and he was living a good life, nothing really fancy, just a normal Joe kind of salary, and he was making ends meets, but he could always find a way to go on a boat tour because he would find a Groupon code, and brought his family along so that everyone could have a great time.

Although he left us very at a very young age (58 years old), I know that in the audience, some people that were in their seventies, some people that will live until maybe a hundred years old, won't live as much as my husband's friend has lived in the short life that he had.

Do we want people to say that from us, that we've lived? That we took advantage of the time that we had? Or do we want people to say: "Oh, I remember Nathalie. She was working all the time and she was saving so much money for when she would retire and then retirement never came, and that was that." I would much rather people say: "Oh, Nathalie was working and she was still taking time to enjoy life at the same time."

Let's sit back this week and think about what we want people to remember about us? What are some small changes you can make in order to make that happen? Is there anybody in your life that you would like to reconnect with? Is there somebody on your list that you're always wondering about? Maybe this week is a good time to do this. Take the opportunity to take that step towards that connection with that person that maybe you haven't seen in a long time.

We never know when life is going to take these people away from us. Connect with the people you love, and then maybe make some tweaks to your life and see if there are things that you would like people to remember you by. The way you are today might affect what they will say about you when you are gone.

Check out some of my previous blog posts...

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