1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself — not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

These wishes aren’t mine.
But probability indicates that they will be, in 51 years. Give or take a few Kahlua-laced milkshakes.

They’re The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying, as recorded by palliative care nurse & author Bronnie Ware.

Bronnie spent several years interviewing patients during their final 3 to 12 weeks of life, and what she discovered — life after life, death after death — is that most of us die wishing we’d lived differently.

Allow me to put a crystalline point on this, because it’s possibly the most important realization I’ve had this decade. And I want it to saturate your heart:

If most of us die wishing we’d laughed more, loved more, and played more . . . that we’d expressed our true feelings with bravery & immediacy . . . that we’d made joy an urgent priority, and worked far, far less . . . then (most of us) are living with inverted priorities. Out of whack. Simple as that.

Call it whatever you want:

White space. Free time. Family time. Creative time. Love. Vacation. Integration. Off-grid blissery. Freedom. Flexibility. Fluidity. Abundance. Ecstasy. Exhilaration. Lightness. Stillness. PLAY.

We need more of it. Dramatically more. Our final breaths call for it.
And in our final moments of soft, clear wisdom, we mourn the lack of it.

So. I’m asking:

: If PLAY was a non-negotiable part of your life & business plan . . . who would you become?
: Which pieces of your daily grindage would cease to exist?
: What would you notice? Cherish? Remember?
: And what marvels would spring from your mind, heart & fingertips?

But really, I’m asking:

What would it take to die happy?

And now, a brief word from our sponSOAR . . .

Andrea Scher is a woman who, I suspect, will die very, very happy.

And that’s a vigorous compliment.

You might know her as one-half of the visionary Mondo Beyondo crew. You might know her as the voice & lens behind Superhero Journal. And if you’ve played in her world for a while, you’ve probably fallen in love with her euphoric photography, paint-splattered artistry and just-in-time urgings to keep it simple, sweetheart.

For Andrea, photography is not about polished precision — it’s about chasing light, capturing delight, and shifting our perspectives.

Her all-level, all-ages, all-radness photography course — Superhero Photo — is an invitation to let your curiosity point, shoot & click. It’s beloved. Beatific. And $99.

The next session of Superhero Photo begins April 10th, 2012.
Get inside, and see how much joy you can capture.