Guest Blog ~ Seth David Chernoff ~ Lessons From a Dance With Death

By facing death as a two-time cancer survivor, award-winning author Seth David Chernoff learned to experience the fullness of life. In his new book, A Manual for Living: Reality, A User's Guide to the Meaning of Life (ISBN: 9780984093090, 296 Pages, Spirit Scope Publishing), he offers straightforward guidance for achieving lasting happiness, overcoming fear of death and finding true purpose.

He has lived his message, and pulls no punches as he writes about the hard subjects of death, illness, fear, our toxic environment, our perception of what is real, our finances, and our need to accumulate. He deals with change and major transition, living in the "now" and so much more by answering the questions:

Seth David Chernoff is a marketing professional, and the founder of multiple companies that have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Popular Mechanics, Business Week, USA Today, and on ABC and PBS TV – online at www.DavidChernoff.com and www.ManualForLiving.com

Lessons from a Dance with Death

Facing death teaches you many things…first and foremost, you realize that every day is such an amazing gift, and you don’t need to get sick to realize that. You also realize that life is to short to compromise your path and purpose in life. We all know that being a writer can be hard, lonely work, and yet the message has to be worth it to inspire us to make significant sacrifices to deliver our work into the world.

There are no coincidences in this universe; everything operates in perfect equilibrium. When we are ready, the right opportunities in life present themselves, whether in the form of people or things; and regardless of whether we see, hear, feel, or read it, it will speak to us. Irrespective of whether we agree or disagree with information as it is presented to us in life, it serves an important purpose to help us open our eyes to the world around us, to continually question what we believe, and to subsequently look within for the answers we seek for our truth.

The general complacency with which we live our lives offers little in the way of growth and evolution.

A healthy curiosity makes the world go around. We need to connect with others, step out of our comfort zone and out of our shell to become active participants in our communities. We need to engage in our world, express interest in other people’s lives, be authentic, ask questions, and most importantly, learn from those around us. Everyone has a story, and there is something we can take away from every person we meet, from every connection we make, from every moment we live. Experiences happen as they are meant to. There are no accidents; and when a delay or inconvenience arises, remember that we are exactly where we need to be, in a position to connect and reconnect with those around us and our world at large. So, learn something new. Be of service. Evolve. Life is not all that mysterious; we just aren’t able to plan out every moment of our lives as it will occur, regardless of our schedule or agenda, with or without our consent.

We can only plan out this moment, and it really is the only one that matters.

We can take responsibility for this very moment and anything that transpires as a result of the divine plan of our life. Life cannot be planned; it is simply what happens to us when we are not caught up in the planning of this moment or the one that follows. Life is what occurs when we let go of our agenda and become present to this moment. We need to gift ourselves the magnificence of the moment before us, a real present, the only present that really exists.

There is a perfect time for all things, and NOW is that time.

It wasn’t yesterday, for we were not ready. It is not tomorrow, for that will be too late. Now is the time for our own transformation, to make decisions for the betterment of our lives, our family, and our community. Now is the time to commit to our own evolution, to choose life over death, passion over complacency, greatness over mediocrity, service over selfishness. Now is the time to be the person we have always longed to be.

We are irreplaceable so let us not waste this incredible opportunity.

In the end, what do we have to lose? Life is too short for anything less. We can study, read books, and plan out our lives, but in the end we must simply take action, climb that mountain, and dive into the ocean. The world awaits our unique contribution. This is the time, our time. We can make our world a better place, not by obsessing about what we did right or what we did wrong, but by helping to make every moment just a little bit better, a little more connected to our source, and a little more focused on a life of service.

We are all destined for greatness. It is our choice alone whether we achieve all that is destined for us in this life.

We can choose to subsist through life, accepting everything as it is presented to us, or we can take advantage of the greatest opportunity before us—to become our true self, to follow our life-path, and to live a life of meaning and purpose.

Partially adapted from the award-winning book, Manual For Living: Reality, A User’s Guide to the Meaning of Life.

·Reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from MANUAL FOR LIVING: REALITY, A USER’S GUIDE TO THE MEANING OF LIFE (c) 2010 Seth David Chernoff, Published by Spirit Scope Publishing, Boulder, CO. 800-716-8512. All rights reserved.