Yesterday, my neighbor dropped dead of a heart attack. He was not an old man or a sick man, but rather a middle aged, vibrant man that I had just seen the day before walking around the block, then stopping in front of my house to pick up his mail. At 7:00 PM last evening, he was fine. At 7:05, he was gone. That fast.

We all know death comes in an instant, but seeing it happen before your eyes, drives the point home in a new way. I’ll never forget the image of his lifeless body being wheeled out on the stretcher, while his wife sat in the front seat of the ambulance—waiting.

He and I have had but a few interactions over the years and most revolved around his distain for an eyesore of a bike park that my son built in the backyard. In fact my neighbor’s last words to me, delivered in my living room, were something to the effect of “I don’t think I’ll be able to speak to you or wave to you, if I have to look at ‘that thing’ for the next three years.” That was two years ago.

Why three years? Because my son was 16 at the time of the offensive construction project and I promised the neighbors that it would be removed once my son went away to college.

For obvious reasons I am so sad that my neighbor is gone, and I’m sad he didn’t live to see the removal of the structure that upset him so. But I also wonder, if he had known then, what I know now, would it all have mattered so much?

That question keeps ringing in my ear. You see just last week, I spent way too much time in an upset and angry mood about just about everything. Happens to me sometimes and I’ve come up with a mantra for the feeling…”I’m pissed off about nothing in particular and everything in general.” But unwittingly my neighbor has provided me with a wake up call, which I now share with you.

Death comes in an instant, make sure all the moments before are good ones.

After all, most of the things we spend our time fretting about, don’t really matter, do they?

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Santa is not the only one who needs to make a list and check it twice. That is something I am currently doing myself. And it’s not in relation to buying Christmas gifts. This year, as I have been involved in taking my business to the next level, I have arrived at a place I’m not sure I wanted to be…The Land of Overwhelm. I’m one of those people who LOVES most ideas in the moment I hear them and signs up immediately, only to wake up the next day asking, “What was I thinking?”

Have you had this experience? Do you say yes to too many things at once and then curse all the project details as you run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to actually accomplish all the items you’ve stuffed onto your To Do list?

Maybe I’m the only one with this habit, but I think probably not. So here’s what I’m doing to remedy my current state of overscheduled delirium. I’m getting quiet—really quiet. I’m getting back to the practice of taking a DEEP breath, tuning into my body and getting my answers from my inner guidance system, rather than from my head, which seems to have no off switch lately!

It may seem counter intuitive to stop doing just when you have many more things to do, but that is precisely the point. When doing stops working, it is time to BE. Actually it is always most helpful to BE first, then you won’t get into a state of over-DOING.

So join me, won’t you?

Stop, breathe, and make a new list. This time only include the items that are in alignment with your body’s wisdom, which takes cues directly from your soul. As one of my mentors, Life Coach Michelle Woodward told me yesterday, give To Do list items the 24-hour test. When you hear the “next big idea,” put off deciding about it for 24-hours.

Giving yourself a break between hearing and committing, allows time to check in with your body compass.

When you check with your body, does the idea of saying yes to this or that project feel burdensome or freeing? Let that be your guide. From that centeredness, everything will fall into place, EXACTLY as is best.

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