Giveaway: Enjoy Every Sandwich – Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. – Buddha
Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day as If It Were Your Last
Lee worked at the well-known Preventive Medicine Research Institute. As medical director of the Institute, he helped thousands of patients to overcome their fear of pain and death and to embrace living life with joy every day.
In his own life, happily married and the proud father of two remarkable children, Lee was similarly committed to living life fully and gratefully each day.
Lee’s beliefs were tested in July 2009, when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
As Lee and his wife, Kathy, navigated his illness and treatment over the past two years, he discovered that he did not fear death. Instead of fearing the future, he took the time to practice gratitude, connect with his loved ones, and make every attempt to live a full life with each breath.
Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day as If It Were Your Last
Lee Lipsenthal died on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. It is now my honor to spread Lee’s message with this special book.
The Giveaway
There are two ways you can win 1 of 3 copies of this life-giving book:
1. Share how you make every moment (and every sandwich) count in Comments below. This can be how you show gratitude or connect with loved ones every day. You can also share a quote that reminds you of the preciousness of every moment. Reading by email? Just click here to visit the blog so you can leave a comment, too!
2. Tweet: RT @thebridgemaker @EESandwich Giveaway: Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last http://www.thebridgemaker.com/enjoy-every-sandwich/
You can enter until midnight Central Standard Time on Thursday, January 19.
Update: The winners for this giveaway have been chosen. Subscribe to The BridgeMaker to receive twice-weekly emails to learn about future giveaways!
The winners:
- Raquel
- Moushira
- J
Personal reflections
I’m contacted weekly from book publicists asking me to review a book they are promoting. Because of other time commitments, I politely decline most of the requests. Other times when I agree to receive a copy, I will write back informing the publicist the book did not resonate with me.
When I received Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day as If It Were Your Last
Lee’s natural and honest writing style made me feel like he was talking to me. However, what touched me most, beyond the book’s powerful message, was realizing Lee Lipsenthal was no longer with us. This made the book more special and filled with deeper meaning.
I got the sense Lee meant every word. Moreover, he wasn’t trying to motivate through his story; he was trying to comfort us, even though he was the one facing death.
Beyond connecting with the central theme – live each day as it if were your last, I also connected with three other powerful messages Lee shares:
1. Write down three things you are grateful for, each day.
I found that if each night I wrote down three things that I was grateful for, each day was filled with more fun and joy. Fear and anxiety began to fade. ~ Lee Lipsenthal
2. The goal in life is not in the doing but in the being.
Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. ~ Buddhist proverb
3. Today should be a good day to day.
This is a Native American expression used in battle. Today I die for a good cause, but it can also mean that if each of our days is lived fully, without remorse, with love and service, any day is a good day to die. ~ Lee Lipsentha
Even though I read the book in one afternoon, its meaning will stay with me forever.
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Comments
18 Responses to “Giveaway: Enjoy Every Sandwich – Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last”
What do you think?
I do believe that if you start and end your day with thinking about what you are grateful about, and thanking God for your gifts- you wil. Lead a more wholehearted life.
I try to find someone each day who needs just a little encouragement. I work with the public and this is not hard to find. Sometimes I listen to them, sometimes I offer encouraging words, and sometimes I am able to meet the need. Each time I am able help someone I am reminded of all of the things in my life that I am thankful for. It sounds silly I know but this past December I was in a rut and feeling very sorry for myself when one of the people I helped wrote me a letter and sent it to me. I instantly felt guilty for wallowing and from that day I have made an effort every morning to think about what I am thankful for and try to enjoy at least one thing about the day. I figure the enjoying the whole day will come in time. I have been trying to teach my 9 year old this principal. We have started with being thankful for heat, and a warm bed and food to eat.
Actually writing down three things for which I am thankful every day is much more empowering for me than just THINKING the grateful thoughts!
I try to remember that everything I do should be a blessing to someone – whether I’m caring for patients at work or doing laundry for my family at home or sending a card to a friend to cheer them up. The small things are the most important things in life. Mother Teresa said “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
Beautiful video. We all need to take these kinds of courses/classes. It would help us live our lives better.
I too do the 3 Blessings exercise each nite – found it from Marty Seligman – positive psychologist from Un. of Penn. Very powerful and a wonderful way to end each day before bed. (instead of having the day’s problems swirling in our minds before we lay our head on our pillows)
Thank you for introducing us to this inspirational man and to a great teacher of life.
Hi Alex,
Thank you for sharing Lee’s story and the book. I shall check it out.
We should all learn to live life like we are dying, because regardless of the time we have we know that we will die at some time.
Here is a quote that I made for myself.
“I take the time to enjoy everyday as it comes. I glance into the future of tomorrow, but let it be for I am in today.
I have Learned from the past, so I refuse to return, I am in Today, And I am blessing.”
After going through anal cancer I’m grateful for being cancer-free I’m Definitely Blessed By The Best.
Hi Alex,
Like you, I intuitively know Lee’s book will resonate with me! Watching the video moved me as I observed his peace and grace and its message stays with me during this holiday which
represents both.
I began the year by putting feet (or hands, in this case) beneath my gratitude. I started using a Gratitude Calendar System (promoted by Chris Chenoweth at Positive Christianity). It works like this: Throughout the day, I notice the things for which I am grateful and jot a note in that day’s box. During the evening, I keep an appointment with God and offer thanks for all those things. At the end of the week, I give thanks for the seven days of items on the gratitude list and will do the same at the end of the month, and really any other time I choose.
Here’s the bonus: I try each day to stay positive, to not criticize or judge and to be of service. If I do those things, I get a star for that day! As silly as it may sound, drawing a big star next to my day’s gratitude list is a really satisfying feeling.
Thanks for your post today, Alex. May the blessings you’ve shared come back to you tenfold!
B Well!
I start each day with positive note cards.
I carry them with me (in case of emergency)
When someone is negative, I excuse myself and usually go to the bathroom and pray for them.
I will win a copy of your book because when I eat anything especially a sandwich I do them “yum” thing every single bit. That really tells the world that I enjoy what I am eating.
What a positive book with such a powerful message! Isn’t the brain such an amazing gift? Just imagine what we could accomplish if we adopted this type of thinking in EVERY area of our lives! Can you imagine the overwhelming inner peace we could achieve?
As a Universal Shaman, I’ve been able to channel my thinking, commune with others beyond this world, and awake my inner consciousness. It’s a way of life for me!
“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.”
Brother David Steindle-Rast
Today is tomorrow. It has happened. You are here.
I smile at everyone,and say hello. Sometimes when I am feeling adventurous, I wave to strangers in other cars. I almost always.get a wave and a smile.back.
I have written about that Native American expression before–it is a powerful message to not die in advance, but to live each moment to the fullest. Like the zen story about the man chased by tigers who jumps over a cliff and catches himself on a branch. He looks down and sees tigers below. Out of the cliff side is growing a ripe strawberry. He picks it and eats it. “Delicious!” he exclaims.
In addition to the other great gratitdue ideas, I try to find something to be grateful for in relation to something I am NOT feeling grateful about! A quick example–I might be feeling whiny about the rain in the winter, but I’m grateful for the lush green vegetation in our part of Oregon in the summer.
Sounds like a great book!
Hi Alex,
Indeed my friend, giving gratitude for what we have and living in the present is something we should all be doing. I personally have a gratitude list that I go over daily for over 30 minutes and trust me it makes a big difference in my day. Thanks for sharing my friend
Enlarge your hopes and expectations. Don’t be afraid to up the ante. Just because you can’t see it happening doesn’t mean it can’t happen. As long as you have hope, you have something to look forward to. Hope gives you something to wake up to because you’re living in expectation that something good is going to happen
Dear Alex,
Thanks a lot for sharing this. absolutely inspiring & touching…indeed a good job.
I am someone who is in the process of getting reacquainted with “the Buddha Mind.” Having experienced SATORI first-hand, I think I am somewhat accomplished spiritually/personally. However, it’s all about perspective. While, when I first had this transformative experience, I felt a sense of tremendous pride; later, I felt a sense of shame at understanding/coming to terms with my own hubris. Now, I realize that there is still more for me to LEARN and TEACH, as I am now.
Everyone has goals, without exception. As I refine my own, I also make time to LISTEN to others and UNDERSTAND the things that are important to them. While a certain amount of detachment is necessary for development, compassion is just as valuable. For me this means being “available” for the needs of others, whether I have “too much” (or “not enough”) time.
One of the quotes that (I think you shared, Alex,) has had a profound impact on me was in the words of Gautama Buddha himself, “IT IS BETTER TO TRAVEL WELL THAN TO ARRIVE”. . . To me this means welcoming and appreciating our companions; after all life is a JOURNEY and NOT A RACE and we fly farthest when in formation.