I heard it said once that some people die in their twenties but their funeral isn’t until several years later.  I never really understood what that meant until I found out that I was one of those who had died.

I am not talking about in the literal sense – stop breathing, six feet under etc.  What I am talking about is worse.  I was one of those that was physically sound but had mentally checked out.  I had become so caught up in the daily grind that I didn’t even know I had options anymore.  I was on auto-pilot doing circles and getting nowhere.

Then it happened.  I was at a John Maxwell event and John introduced his father to the stage and made this comment “…and some time ago my father decided to live until he died.”  At the time Melvin Maxwell was in his early eighties and when he spoke from that stage, it took less than 30 seconds to realize this man was way more alive at 80-something than I had been in a long time.

Everything changed for me that day.  I decided I was going to live until I die.  OK, fair enough, but what does that really mean?

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.–   L.P. Jacks

I love this quote, especially the ending.  In short, to master the art of living, you must appear to be playing and working at the same time.  I didn’t even know that was an option.

The picture above was taken a few years ago on a high school mission trip to Mexico that I went on with my oldest son Scott.  It was over a hundred degrees that day as we graded the dirt, set forms, mixed the concrete, poured and finished the slab (all by hand) to become part of a new house for the family that lived on the lot.

We built that house in four days.  It was well constructed as we were using plans from the sponsoring agency in charge.  But it was far from what you and I are probably used to and the only restroom was just a few feet away from the new structure – an old falling down out-house shack sitting atop a hand dug hole with a sheet for a door.

Why does this matter?  Because we made a difference that day.  In four days, we changed the lives of this family forever.  As I look back on that day, I realize that days like that are when we are really living.  Even in the triple digit weather, we were able to laugh and enjoy what we were doing.  For those four days, we had mastered the art of living.

I don’t know if you are living or not.  Only you can answer that question.  Here is a question I can answer.  Is there more to your life that what you are currently doing? The answer is Yes!  So you might want to consider this  …

What would you have to be doing for work that it would appear to be play?  What do you need to do to Master The Art Of Living?

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Barry Smith   www.buildingwhatmatters.com      4/6/13            photo by author