We spend so much of life planning for the “someday.”
- Someday when work slows down.
- Someday when the timing is right.
- Someday when we’ve ticked all the boxes.
End-of-life planning is important—absolutely. Having your wishes known gives peace of mind to both you and your loved ones. It’s a gift of clarity, comfort, and compassion. But there’s another piece of the puzzle that too often gets left until too late: living the chapters we’re in right now.
Over these past weeks of my recent travels, I’ve been reminded again and again that life isn’t meant to be observed from the sidelines. It’s meant to be felt in the crunch of red dirt underfoot, tasted in the sweetness of a bakery treat in a town you’d never heard of before, and seen in sunsets that set the horizon ablaze. It’s found in conversations with strangers who become friends, in detours that take you somewhere better than the destination, and in those quiet moments where you realise you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
These experiences become the stories we carry—the vibrant, colourful paragraphs in the book of our life. Without them, the pages risk becoming a checklist rather than a legacy.
So yes, write your Advance Care Directive. Talk to your family about your wishes. Make peace with what’s to come. But in the same breath, book that trip. Say yes to the detour. Take the long way home. Let yourself be surprised by what the world has waiting for you.
Because your life isn’t just one chapter—it’s many.
And every single one is worth living fully.
