<!-- type = text --><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStartT|**|-~--> Guys .. this article is so true... i just liked to share with u all ... hope anyone thinks like that ...i know it will change a bit of ur mind.. hoping that u 'll like it..have a nice day.. <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEndT|**|-~--> Don't save it for the funeral. BUSINESS MATTERS (BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE) By Francis J. Kong Philippine Star, Sunday, September 2, 2007 An elderly man lay dying in his bed. In death's agony, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs. He had lived a simple life. He had not asked for much. But if there is one thing he had always wanted it is his favorite chocolate chip cookies. He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. With labored breath, he leaned against the doorframe, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven: There, spread out on the kitchen table, were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. "No…no…no…this could not be heaven or was it heaven?" the old man thought to himself. Or was it merely one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table. His aged and withered hand made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when his wife suddenly smacked it with a spatula. "Stay out of those," she said. "They're for the funeral." The question is, "Why save the good for the funeral when it should have been shared and enjoyed beforehand by the living?" Isn't it a shame that flowers are given when they could no longer be seen and words are said when they can no longer be heard. • "What a wonderful friend she was." • "He meant so much to me." • "He was a good man…" And then some comments reflect the realization that when we had our chance, we never express our feelings adequately to those we love while they were alive. • "I never got the chance to tell him how much I appreciated what he had done for me." • "I hope she realizes how much I love her." The good things you want to do and the good words you want to say, don't save it for the funeral. Do it and say it now. I learn so many important life lessons every time I go to a funeral. Parties? Well, I enjoy them too but the reality is that there is not so much to learn. So given a choice I would rather attend a funeral than a party and learn more things about live and living. And while we are on the subject matter, do not save the best for last. It does not make sense. We keep our best china waiting for those special guests to come when the most special people are with us every day of our lives. We store our favorite watch wanting to wear it on that special occasion and we fail to realize that the best time of our life does not belong to the past and neither is it in the future, it's in the here and now. We stock and safety-vault the best of our jewelry planning to wear them for that special occasion but all these does not make sense. You do not save the best for last; you save the best for now. If your best is not now then your life is not exactly fulfilling isn't it? You never know when your best would be but you can always make today the best it could be. If someone means something special to you, don't save it for the funeral. Share it with them now! And do yourself a favor. Bring out those beautiful and expensive china, wear that expensive watch. Open the safe vault and enjoy those things for after all they are just things aren't they? Here's the catch. Use them for the people you love. You want to be your best for them. Honor them by being making the here and now the best moment of your life and share it with your loved ones. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching. Live today as if there's no more tomorrow not in a spirit of carefree abandon or recklessness but in celebration of life as a gift from the Author of Life. So spend today wisely and cheerfully. Have a nice day