By Scott Reddoch
When I was a kid I had a neighbor named Mr. Sonny. I don’t remember ever seeing anyone visit him. He was a single man who smoked cigars. He was a Navy veteran and had a crude tattoo of an anchor on his forearm.
It seemed like Mr. Sonny was always sitting on his front porch. He lived in an old double shotgun house painted white with green shutters. He kept things pretty neat but the paint was cracked and chalky.
Mr. Sonny was always trying to share his wisdom with the other kids and me. We didn’t understand what he said. We were too young and blew most of it off. I do remember a few things that he said. I wish it was more.
One summer morning he asked me “if you had 10 years left to live what would you do?” I didn’t answer him.
The next morning he asked me “if you had 10 months left to live what would you do?” Again I didn’t answer and was just concerned with playing with my friends.
The next morning he saw me again and asked “if you had 10 weeks left to live what would you do?”
This time I responded. “Ice cream. I would eat a lot of ice cream.”
He just smiled and nodded while I trekked off to find my friends.
I didn’t notice at the time that Mr. Sonny was a treasure. He had seen a lot. I wish he was still around now that I understand what he was saying.
I remembered his questions in my mid-20s and thought it was great advice. But I still wasn’t living life that way. It wasn’t until I nearly died that I looked at that for what it was.
The average human lives about 4,000 weeks. Our time here feels shorter when you put it that way.
I was given some low odds to live 16 more weeks. I have lasted 208 and I hope that I will for many more.
February 28th marked four years since I had two strokes. It’s a special day for me considering nobody expected me to make it. The day is like a second birthday to me. But my celebration is not dictated by the calendar. I live each day with presence and intention.
Life is often taken for granted. I try to squeeze everything I can get from the moments I have left.
On week 208, I audited what I was doing with my time. I love deeply, much deeper than I thought possible.
If I were asked the same questions today, ice cream is still part of the answer. The other part is doing exactly what I am doing.
Thank you Mr. Sonny.
Happy people have the same answer for all three.
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2 thoughts on “4,000 Weeks”
That’s good advice. I’m definitely not living life as though I only have 10 years left. And my usual excuse, (being too young to have it figured out yet,) doesn’t do much for me if 10 weeks from now its all over. Thank’s for sharing Scott.
Good stuff Scott. I believe this will always be the case. When you are young, life feels unlimited and there’s always tomorrow. Experience only comes with time passed.
I was still pretty young when I first heard the following quote from the late Brandon Lee. It has always stuck with me, especially during times when my own future seemed uncertain.
“Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well, and yet everything only happens a certain number of times. Only a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood? An afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being you can’t even conceive of life without it. Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet, it all seems limitless.”