“Ponder an aneurysm.”

My eighth grade art teacher killed our lunchtime sugar highs when he said it. He went on to explain what an aneurysm was–a burst blood vessel that can strike anyone dead at anytime–as only the most optimistic artist could. An interesting way to say Carpe diem, but it’s true. What does it really mean to ponder an aneurysm? The lesson is simple–and highly lucrative.

In Alta, Calif., 32-year-old Jason Chellew was simply sitting at home on Friday, April 24, when a giant sinkhole opened up in his floor and swallowed him beneath the foundation. Sure, you could blame recent California rainfall and a possible underground mine shaft, but Chellew’s death leads some to think they should not sit at home at night–and others to ponder an aneurysm.

Death can creep up on us at anytime, and we don’t ever think about the unusual ways that we can find ourselves face-to-face with the darkly dressed dude. Writer Sherwood Anderson died of peritonitis after swallowing a toothpick at a cocktail party–that’ll kill your buzz. Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed on his wedding night. Note to self: Pack tissues and an emergency cell phone.

Like something out of the ever-accident-prone plot of Final Destination, Tennessee Williams choked to death on a nose spray bottle cap. On that same note, a helicopter blade decapitated horror filmmaker Michael Findlay. It makes you want to pull a Howard Hughes and start walking around in tissue boxes, but that’s life–or death.

Aeschylus, a Greek dramatist–but what else could you be with a name like that–died when a vulture mistook his bald dome for a stone and dropped a tortoise on it. I thought I was unlucky when birds targeted me with poopage. Aeschylus’ good pal 200 years later, Greek philosopher Chrysippus, died of laughter after seeing a donkey eating figs–a comedy routine so funny it’s outlawed in all 50 states. It’s no donkey show.

No one is safe from an unexpected death. King Bela I of Hungary died when his throne collapsed–think twice before ye sit high and mighty.

Were any of them pondering an aneurysm? Not likely.

Before you rush off to work, class or the couch for a very noteworthy afternoon of sitting, ponder an aneurysm. We never really know when our time will be up, and, depending upon your beliefs, you may never get the chance to live again. You don’t have to live in fear, but instead, embrace the fact that every moment is precious. As Brad Pitt so profoundly states as Achilles in Troy, our lives are made more beautiful and great by the fact that each moment, sight, or sound could our last.

It’s like the age old counselor question that the characters of Office Space ask each other: what would you do if you had a million dollars? Quite often, we get so caught up in our own lives and short-term goals that we forget our desires to see Stonehenge, visit the monks of Tibet, or pray in the Sistine Chapel. Ponder an aneurysm, and these goals can no longer be put off. Procrastinators beware!

Friends have told me that I take Carpe diem too much to heart by living the plenty-of-time-to-sleep-when-I-die lifestyle, but it makes sense when you ponder an aneurysm. Maybe my art teacher practiced a little tough love, but his message was only in our best interest. When you take “ponder an aneurysm” to heart, the phrase has the power to transform you as it did me–from a chattering middle schooler to a conscious dream seeker.

Death’s jokes always have bad comedic timing, so make sure you don’t live on his watch. Start each day by pondering an aneurysm.

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