Meditation Exercise: A Testament

This reflection was created by a Jesuit from India named Anthony De Mello. It's intended to help us live more reflectively. I think it's worth doing with people we care about, a spouse, sibling, friend... And it's worth doing between ourselves and God, to take stock of who we have been, and who we are now. Perhaps you can take a moment, and think about one or two of the "points" listed below. 

A Testament

I imagine that today I am to die.
I ask for time to be alone and write down for my friends a sort of testament.  The following points could serve as chapter titles.

1. These things I have loved in life:
    Things I tasted,
    looked at,
    smelled,
    heard,
    touched.

2.  These experiences I have cherished:

3. These ideas have brought me liberation:

4. These beliefs I have outgrown:

5. These convictions I have lived by:

6. These are things I have lived for:

7. These insights I have gained in the school of life:
    Insights into God,
    the world,
    human nature,
    Jesus Christ,
    love,
    religion,
    prayer.

8. These risks I took,
            these dangers I courted:

9. These sufferings have seasoned me:

10. These lessons life has taught me:

11. These influences have shaped my life
            (persons, occupations, books, events):

12. These scripture texts have lit my path:

13. These things I regret about my life:

14. These are my life's achievements:

15. These people are enshrined within my heart:

16. These are my unfulfilled desires:

I choose an ending for this document:
       a poem-- my own or someone else's;
       or a prayer;
       a sketch or a picture from a magazine;
       a scripture text;
       or anything that I judge would be an apt conclusion to my testament.


 (taken from Hearts on Fire: Praying with the Jesuits)