Time magazine called this past decade the “decade from hell.” The past decade saw the collapse of the World Trade Center, the beginning of an ongoing war against terrorism (and the nebulousness that followed), strange elections, numerous scandals, natural disasters, government failures, Ponzi schemes, celebrity voyeurism and a great economic recession. 

If John Cusack is right, then we have two years left before cataclysmic events end the world as we know it. In other words, we better start living.

There was a Top 40 song that made its way around mainstream radio this past year that does a fair job of capturing my sentiments. It comes from "American Idol" winner Kris Allen, and although the song itself is cliché in every sense of the word, there is something very true about the following lyrics:

Yeah, we gotta start lookin’ at the hands of the time we’ve been given
If this is all we got, then we gotta start thinkin’
If every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

True, it is a bit melodramatic for my sensibilities, but have you ever lived a moment out as if it was your possible last? I was recently watching a documentary about the miraculous landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River, and I was pulled in by the personal accounts of the passengers on the flight.

Much has been made (and rightfully so) about the heroic precision of Captain Sullenberger to land the airplane without any casualties, but outside of him and the other pilot, no one else had any direct control of their predicament.

As the passengers saw and felt the plane quickly heading toward the river, many of them prayed for another chance at life. Some pondered if they made the most with their life, some sent text messages saying their last “I love you’s” to family and some prayed for a miracle. All of them came out of the experience with a greater appreciation for a second chance at life.

2010 has a nice ring to it. Another decade from now we’ll be ringing in 2020. They say hindsight is 20/20, but here’s to living out in foresight for 2010.