What a film about death has taught me about life

"You’re going to die next week!"

Well, that is one scary statement. If someone said that to me, I’ll probably raise my eyebrows and say, "Yeah right!" But on the second thought, my hair will probably stand on end. What if I only have one week to live–would I be ready to die by then?

Dyed blonde Lanie (Angelina Jolie) faces the same dilemma in the movie Life or Something Like It, a movie that has made me re-examine my life. Lanie, a TV anchor, has worked so hard to have a "perfect" life–she is engaged to the number one baseball player of Seattle and she is being considered for a national hosting stint in New York City. As she puts it, she has a great job, great friends, a great boyfriend, a great apartment and great career prospects. Everything is picture-perfect until she is assigned to work with Pete (Edward Burns), a witty cameraman who she just can’t get along with. Despite his unkempt look, Pete is insightful. But what changes Lanie’s life is a prediction made by a street prophet named Jack that she only has a week to live. Lanie feels lost and confused. For the first time in her life she is not in control.

In Pete’s opinion Lanie is terrified of dying because she has a meaningless life where her main goal is to make others happy. And I must say that I agree with him. People who are afraid of dying haven’t lived their lives to the fullest. I should know; I’m one of them. You are probably one, too. All of us are like Lanie in one way or another. It’s not that we have meaningless lives, it’s just that too often we see life as a race to be won where approval is essential. We tend to overlook the experience itself and the lessons to be learned. We have our "perfection" fetish. We go on our never-ending quest for better things. And I must say that there’s nothing wrong with that. But too often we forget the true essence of living. Like Lanie we measure our lives by the success of our careers or romantic relationships. But life is more than a nice job and an all-star boyfriend. We mistakenly assume that happiness always arrives with a loud, deafening bang. Well, sometimes things that are worth living for come in small discreet packages. It’s the joy from the simple things in life that matters.

This movie encourages each of us to maximize our lives minute by minute. It is like a huge banner telling us to live, not just to exist. And living does not mean having endless parades of "gimmicks" or soaking yourself wet with beer. It’s about making a difference, no matter how small, in this mad world. Death might not be too hard to accept if we know that something good can come out of our existence, if we become even half the person that we want to be.

If I knew that I would die next week, next month or even next year, of course I would be lost in confusion on what to do first because there are still a lot of things I want to do. I’ll loosen up. You see, I’m always the sensible one with a habit of looking for scientific explanation of things. I’ll probably sit by the beach to watch the sunset without thinking what it would cost me. I’ll climb Mt. Apo without thinking how exhausting it is. I’ll do all the good deeds I could, to let the people know that there’s goodness in this world. I’ll take Pete’s advice to go and see everyone I love and really look at them. I’ll tell them all the things that I really wanted to say but was always too scared to tell them.

One week may not be enough for me to say all the "I love you’s", "I’m sorry’s", and "I forgive you’s". So why don’t I do those things then, even if I’m not dying within a week? The same reason as why you haven’t said and done the things you’ve always wanted. You see, we always have to follow through with our actions; we have to deal with its effects. And I don’t think that I can handle this. I don’t have the guts to be transparent. Not yet anyway. But I’m working on it so that if ever I come across prophet Jack or his cousin, I’ll be prepared.