If I Die Tomorrow?

I’m not planning to die yet!

The title of this blog is the title of one of my recent songs.

It has opened up a portal of contemplation which is what I hoped all my current songs would do and I’d love you to get involved.

Here are the lyrics for the chorus:

“If I die tomorrow, would I regret a single thing
If I die tomorrow, would there be anything missing
If I die tomorrow, could I say I’d given all I had to give?
We’re all gonna die but will we ever really live?
”

— Alison David

I actually wrote this many years ago, perhaps 20… and now I’ve written some verses and music, although I’m not sure the lyrics are finished because stuff in my life keeps pointing me back to the discussion.

Some of you may know my song, Dreams Come True, this wasn’t just a song title, it was my Mission Statement. I was passionate in my mission to encourage everyone to live their dreams, find the things they truly loved and make them a lifestyle or profession.

You may notice my use of the past tense; this is because I moved my focus from outward to inward; I acknowledged that not everyone has the will, courage or determination to achieve their dreams, especially because it seems to entail sacrifice. and that’s fine and their business.

The Youtuber, Evan Carmichael compiles quotes and has inspired me recently, he is passionate about the dreams come true mission.

✎ will.i.am's Top 10 Rules For Success: In this video we're going to learn how to improve our lives by analyzing our take on will.i.am's rules for success. ❤ HELP TRANSLATE THIS VIDEO ❤ If you loved this video, help people in other countries enjoy it too by making captions for it.

Without a mission, I had nothing to write, hence the 10 year drought, I thought I’d been too preachy with my songs, my mum was a Christian preacher and I remember watching her and thinking the best way to teach was by example, to inspire rather than apply pressure.

So this time I am writing to share my perspectives in case they are of help or inspiration to others and I am not attached to the outcome; the journey of each song brings some benefit to me, it’s my self expression, and each song opens a contemplation. A preacher is convinced that they are right, I am open to being wrong and throwing out suggestions and questions.

Now my angle is more gentle, I did learn over those years that as much as I’d thought I was preaching, there were messages for me in all my songs, I also learned that whatever my judgements were, my songs and my journey were of significant value to others.

Here's a quote about a video I made several years ago (watch it here):

“Your video has just moved me to tears, it gave me faith in what I believe & in my dreams.
I apologise for my emotional email, but I felt I had to tell you, people do not often touch me like you just did.
Please keep making your music & follow your dream, you are beautiful & an inspiration.
Thank you.”

— Tim

In researching this blog I discovered Octavio Paz, he has some great quotes,

I've a feeling I'll be using more again, here's what he writes about death.

If I Die Tomorrow....?

This question is often with me, I really want to live my life to the fullest, I want to leave a legacy, it helps me make my choices as I move forward.

Although I do procrastinate lots, I am also so glad I am living out my dreams; so what if I don’t achieve them all? As long as I have time, I will continue to tick them off.

Death is a certainty in life, it baffles me sometimes how people are so shocked when it happens.

A person in my family worked all their life in a job they didn’t like, waiting for retirement to live out their dreams in the Caribbean, they got there and died. I wonder how many people have stories like this?

What about you?

I’m really fascinated to open a discussion, I’m gonna share more myself and I am very interested if and how you’ve contemplated this.

Feel free to comment at the end of this blog.

I’ve met two gentlemen recently who have retired, the first was so pleased to be living his dreams now, he totally sees it was worth doing a job that he didn’t exactly love and putting away money for a good pension so he could enjoy this part of his life, we had a good chat on the subject and he encouraged me to write a will. The second said something that gave me the impression he wasn’t hoping his life would go on too much longer although he went on to talk about the things he was appreciating right now, I think his worry was related to how long his pension may last and possible boredom.

These are the things I consider when asking myself the question:

1. My time spent on earth - did I give it my best? Was it a good adventure? I think can answer yes to this.

2. My legacy - did I leave treasures behind? In this case, my songs and ideas, are they findable, lost on a hard drive somewhere or worst still decomposing somewhere with my brain?

3. My relationships - were my last words to the people I encountered the last things I want them to remember me saying? This could be simple admissions of love or some hard truths I consider worth sharing.

My contemplations in writing the song and hence opening the discussion:

MY LEGACY - I’ve got myself a bit stressed wanting to get some of my songs into the public domain, I have had to let go of the stress and, whether they’re finished or not I’m gonna create a soundcloud playlist of roughs, maybe they’ll benefit someone else and maybe someone will hear them and help me find my team to create the Alison David Sound.. The playlist will be called Family Album and will be private so email me for the link.

MY RELATIONSHIPS - I’ve made sure a friend I fell out with knows I love her and I am currently considering the others who I would like to know my true feelings.

DOES DEATH EVEN EXIST? Does it even matter what we do on this planet if life is just a game? Does our belief in the afterlife, reincarnation or none of the above affect our choices here? For me, what happens when we die is a mystery so I wanna live this life as if it were my only one.

Email Me To Hear My Work in Progress

And finally....writing a will

I guess that’s the ultimate If I Die Tomorrow prep, I’m gonna write one even though as it stands, my possessions add up to possibly £2000. My friend died last year and there was a table of his possessions to help ourselves to, at the wake, I took a bedside lamp and most nights I turn him on, he would’ve been so happy with that! If I have any money to leave behind I’m gonna ask my daughter to buy a load of lamps for my friends…