A nurse has shared the five things dying people tend to regret most during their final days, and her list makes for thought-provoking reading....CONTINUE READING
Palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware worked with dying people for eight years of her career, during which time she listened to many of the reflections of her patients in the final three to 12 weeks of their lives.
The Australian healthcare professional was so moved by what she heard that she began recording their insightful thoughts in her blog, Inspiration and Chai.
These posts in turn touched many people across the world looking for meaning in their own lives, and Bronnie went on to publish her bestselling memoir The Top Five Regrets of the Dying – A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.
These all-too-common regrets will no doubt resonate with many readers. According to Bronnie, this one was “the most common regret of all”, and made her realise that “health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.
” With this in mind, Bronnie has urged people to try and follow at least some of their personal dreams, before it’s too late.
Bronnie revealed that she heard this particular regret with every single male patient she cared for, given that many were from older generations, while many women also expressed similar sentiments.
This particular revelation made Bronnie realise the importance of “making conscious choices” and “creating more space in your life”, allowing for greater overall happiness.
Bronnie observed that, by suppressing their true feelings to “keep peace with others”, many people ended up settling for “a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming”. The resulting frustration even had a physical effect, leading them to develop illnesses connected to the deep-seated “bitterness” they felt.
All too often in adulthood, we’ll find ourselves drifting away from close friends, as the hectic pace of life takes hold. Sadly, Bronnie noticed that many of her patients only realised the importance of old friends in their final weeks, by which point it wasn’t always possible to make contact.
She reflected: “It all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.”
Bronnie was surprised by how common it was for people not to realise that happiness was a choice until the very end, having remained “stuck in old patterns and habits” throughout their lives.
She added: “When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness…CONTINUE READING>>
