Old George, my friend, was 85 or so. He had gotten cancer. He knew it wouldn't be long. I last saw him about a week before he died. He came walking into the little cafe where some of us gather to fix the world, talk about kids or horses, remember the good old days over a warm friendly cup of java. George had a big smile on his face.
George knew that today is all there is. So he always met today with a smile.
I'm not sorry George died. I miss telling tall tales to my good friend. But I'm sure George wasn't sad about it. He stood up like a man, knowing that today is a good day to die, and kept on smiling.
I guess George loved two things more than anything else in life. His wife, who had been gone for twenty years or so, and horses.
One day I asked George how he trained his dogs, still pups, to be so willingly obedient. His eyes sparkled as he said with the hint of a smile on his lips, "Buggy whip."
It isn't when and how you die. It's how you live today, wholly in the here and now. I don't think George had any unfinished business, which is why he could look death in the eye in peace and joy, without fear, a smile on his face.
No one, not you, not me, has any claim on tomorrow. We can't change yesterday, and we don't know what tomorrow will bring (if it comes). Given this fact, it seems to me that it would be wise to focus on Now.