"Live each day as if it were your last." This is dumb advice. It is highly likely that today will not be your last day. If you were to follow this mindset every day, you'd soon be left penniless and destitute. But however misguided this philosophy may be, it's a little easier to understand when you've had a close brush with death.
The recent allegations against Lance Armstrong are damning. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's findings--which Armstrong has not contested--depict Armstrong as one of the most blatant cheaters in sports history. Plenty of athletes have used steroids, but who else has made using them a requirement for membership on his team? His gall is simply amazing.
But then, his background is pretty amazing too. At the age of just 25, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer. The cancer spread to his abdomen, his lungs, his brain.
Of course he recovered, and in just 18 months, he was back on the Tour de France. But it's easy to imagine how a scare like that would get you thinking about the meaninglessness of your life. At the time, Armstrong wouldn't even have merited a footnote in history. If he was lucky, he might get a three-minute segment on the evening news: a pretty good cyclist beats cancer and rides again. A nice story and nothing more. But if he won the Tour, he would make his mark. And not only would he be known as a great athlete; he could use his success to promote his new cancer foundation. His name would live on.
None of this absolves Armstrong from blame. The man is a cheat and a liar. There are plenty of ways to support cancer research without servicing his ego by promoting Livestrong.
But Lance Armstrong is a cautionary tale in the dangers of refusing to accept one's mortality.
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