According to © www.tut.com, “The top 10 things people claim to have taken for granted when they were alive are:

#10. That there really were no coincidences.

#9. How easy life was when they stopped struggling.

#8. That all their prayers and thoughts made a difference.

#7. How much guidance did they receive at all times?

#6. That any and all dreams really can come true.

#5. How far ripples of kindness actually spread.

#4. How good-looking and fun they always were.

#3. How present “God” was in everyone, everything, everywhere, always.

#2. What was really important: happiness, friendships, love.

#1. How important they were to so many.

As expressed by the recently departed, fresh after their life reviews on the big, BIG screen.”

When I read this list from Notes from the Universe, I couldn’t help but pause. Each line felt like a gentle tap on the shoulder, a soft voice from the other side saying, “Wake up, beautiful soul—this is what matters.”

We spend so much of life racing toward goals, fixing what’s broken, or waiting for something better. Yet, as this reminder so beautifully expresses, the most sacred truths are the ones we overlook in our rush to become “more.”

No coincidences.

How many times have we brushed off a chance encounter or dismissed a small detour as random? I’ve come to believe that the Universe is far more intentional than we give it credit for. The people who cross our paths, the delays that frustrate us, the moments that don’t make sense—all of them are threads in a larger tapestry. When we stop labeling them as accidents, we begin to see the divine choreography that’s been dancing around us all along.

Ease over struggle.

It’s astonishing how hard we make life when ease is what it’s been offering us all along. Struggle feels noble, yet peace is what truly elevates. The moment we stop fighting “what is,” life softens its edges and begins to work with us instead of against us.

Our prayers matter.

Even spoken in despair, they ripple outward. They may not always change circumstances, yet they change us. Prayer opens the door for grace to enter, and sometimes that grace looks like courage, laughter, or the sudden comfort of a friend’s voice at just the right time.

Guidance is constant.

Whether through intuition, a dog’s steady nudge (thank you, Ava), or a stranger’s kindness, guidance surrounds us. The trick is learning to listen, to trust that inner knowing instead of second-guessing it into silence.

Kindness spreads farther than we’ll ever know.

A smile, a listening ear, a few words of encouragement—these are small seeds that often blossom in gardens we’ll never see. And maybe that’s the point.

At the end of our days, the list reminds us, it’s not the accolades but the connections—the laughter, the shared moments, the courage to love and be loved—that echo loudest on the “big, BIG screen.”

So, as we move through this day, may we remember that we are not here to chase meaning; we are here to live it. Every breath, every act of love, every ounce of joy is part of that sacred remembering. And, when you do so, you will change the way you see and change the way you live.