I felt comfortable in his presence, a familiarity that made me believe he had felt every feeling I had ever had, from time I took my first breath to instant I was sizzled by lightning. Looking at this Being I had feeling that no one could love me better, no one could have more empathy, sympathy, encouragement, and nonjudgmental compassion for me than this Being.

The Being of Light engulfed me, and as it did I began to experience my whole life, feeling and seeing everything that had ever happened to me. It was as though a dam had burst and every memory stored in my brain flowed out.

When I finished life review, I arrived at a point of reflection in which I was able to look back on what I had just witnessed and come to a conclusion. I was ashamed. I realized I had led a very selfish life, rarely reaching out to help anyone. Almost never had I smiled as an act of brotherly love or just handed somebody a dollar because he was down and needed a boost. No, my life had been for me and me alone. I hadn’t given a damn about my fellow humans.

I looked at Being of Light and felt a deep sense of sorrow and shame. I expected a rebuke, some kind of cosmic shaking of my soul. I had reviewed my life and what I had seen was a truly worthless person. What did I deserve if not a rebuke?

As I gazed at Being of Light I felt as though he was touching me. From that contact I felt a love and joy that could only be compared to nonjudgmental compassion that a grandfather has for a grandchild. Again I was allowed a period of reflection. How much love had I given people? How much love had I taken from them? From review I had just had, I could see that for every good event in my life, there were twenty bad ones to weigh against it. If guilt were fat, I would have weighed five hundred pounds.

As Being of Light moved away, I felt burden of this guilt being removed. I had felt pain and anguish of reflection, but from that I had gained knowledge that I could use to correct my life. I could hear Being’s message in my head, again as if through telepathy; “Humans are powerful spiritual beings meant to create good on earth. This good isn’t usually accomplished in bold actions, but in singular acts of kindness between people. It’s little things that count, because they are more spontaneous and show who you truly are.”

I was elated. I now knew simple secret to improving humanity. The amount of love and good feelings you have at end of your life is equal to love and good feelings you put out during your life. It was just that simple.

“My life will be better now that I have secret,” I said to Being of Light.

It was then that I realized that I wouldn’t be going back. I had no more life to live. I had been struck by lightning. I was dead.

After reading about Dannion Brinkley’s near-death experience, I paused to imagine what it would be like to see my whole life flash before me in span of 28 minutes…to feel every emotion, think every opinion and review every event that had ever happened in my life. Would I like what I saw…what I thought…what I felt? Whether you believe in these near-death experiences or not, idea of such an intense review of one’s life is rather mind-boggling.

Given that only a small percentage of population has reported having a near-death experience (most people don’t live to tell about it), majority of us can only imagine what that experience would be like. Perhaps closest you or I will ever get to this is by imagining that you have just died after living a long life and you are listening in on your own memorial service. I challenge you to ponder these questions:

1. What would you want people to say about your life? What would represent a life well-lived with no regrets? (This represents your beliefs, commitments, and values.)

2. If you continued to live your life just as you are now, what do you think people would have to say about you someday at your memorial service? (This represents how well your actions and behaviors align with your beliefs, commitments, and values.)

3. Based on your responses above, is there anything you choose to do differently than you are doing right now? If so, what’s holding you back from doing it?

I encourage you to identify one thing that you choose to do differently, and come up with an action plan to begin this week.