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What conclusions about your life would you make if the plane you were in was about to crash? On January 15, 2009, Ric Elias was in seat 1D on US Airways Flight 1549. About three minutes after take off from LaGuardia airport in New York City, the plane was struck by a flock of geese which resulted in almost complete engine failure. Unable to reach an airfield, the crew decided to ditch the plane in the Hudson river. Miraculously, all 155 occupants of the plane survived. Ric recently shared the three things that went through his mind during the final minutes of the flight as he assumed his life would shortly be over.
I Collect Bad Wines
Ric realized that life can change in an instant. He thought about all the things he wanted to experience and all of the people he wanted to reach out to but had put off. He now says that "if the wine is ready and the person is there, I'm opening it". He no longer wants to postpone anything and this urgency has changed his life.
My Only Regret
Even though Ric felt pretty good about his life and that he had been a good person, he had one regret: wasting time on things that did not matter with people who did matter. As he puts it "I no longer try to be right, I choose to be happy". We often let our ego get in the way of what is truly important.
Dying Is Not Scary
In the final moments, Ric realized that dying is not scary and how in a way it felt as if he had been preparing himself for that event his whole life. However, it was sad. It was sad because he realized he wanted more than anything to see his kids grow up and he realized that all that truly mattered for him, his main goal and purpose in life, was to be a great father.
Watch below as Ric describes the gift of being able to see into the future, come back, and live differently:
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