I'm going to die in a week. I’m 26, without any physical limitations. I have some money, but not a whole lot. What should I do?

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• A friend doctor who treats terminal cases told me that, contrary to popular belief, most people when faced with death in the near future choose to keep living exactly as they were. The only difference, he said, is that they pay more attention. I myself had proof of this with a friend who was dying of stomach cancer at the age of 40. We were seating at an outside table, drinking coffee in the afternoon and looking at the mountains that border my town, and he said, "You know, Alex, I never really looked at them." The same doctor also told me that the happiest and longest-living people he knew were those who at some point faced unspeakable tragedies. This would explain, for instance, the longevity of Jews who escaped death in concentration camps: they know from experience what a real problem is and don't bother with minor annoyances. So my advice, unless you are actively planning to take your life - in which case a one-week deadline wouldn't make much sense - is just that. Pay attention. Life is beautiful and infinitely interesting. In fact, this is same advice I would give to anyone. After all, we all may be dying within a week. [EDIT] As an afterthought, in case the original poster is actually suicidal and has set a date for that: I don’t believe that in this situation the usual look-at-the-flowers speech can do much good. I've been there and I know sometimes bleakness can seem unsurmountable. Nevertheless, setting this hypothetical suicide at a future date can objectively be seen as an interesting thought experiment. I would assume it gives one an enormous freedom from grief and pain: you are like a traveler to a foreign land whose inhabitants’ cares, desires and concerns do not concern you, because you are only there for a short time and your departure date is set. In this case, I would carefully advise extending your stay for a while – say, one or two months – just out of curiosity, to see how the plot unfolds. Contentment may seem like an impossible language, but with practice you can get the hang of it.