Last year my reverend gave a series of talks on a book he read entitled Twelve Powers in You. The book describes  physical, spiritual, and emotional aspects of the 12 powers inherent in each of us. Fascinated by these talks, I’ve decided to expand on them through the money perspective that I often see things, being a financial planner.
According to Google, life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
Spiritually, life is the mysterious co-creation of our material existence, as life continually unfolds to us.
Emotionally (soul), life is that golden cord that connects us beyond our physical limits of time and space.
Physically, life is represented by your reproductive organs as they form the basis for the creation of life.
What does life have to do with money?
Whether spiritually, emotionally, or physically, life is about finding your purpose. It’s about learning life lessons and growing. When we use our time, talent and treasure in a way that increases the quality of our life, and that of the lives around us, we’re using our life power. Contrary to what one might think, quality trumps quantity when it comes to life. Researchers are beginning to realize this as they discover that it’s our relationships and experiences that matter, not our stuff.
What better place to learn the power of life, than from the dying. Here are the Top five regrets of the dying as told by a nurse caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their life:
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
- I wish that I had let myself be happier.
Many of these revolve around quality of life. But #5, happiness really resonated with me. Here’s what she had to say:
“This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to theirselves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”
To read the rest of the article check out the Top five regrets of the dying.Â
How are you going to use your power of life before dying?
