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Life is Short - We Seem To Think That We’ll Live Forever.
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Life is short.
We seem to think that we’ll live forever. We
spend time and money as though we’ll always be here. We buy shiny things as
though they matter and are worth the debt and stress of attachment. We put off
the so-called “trip of a lifetime” for another year, because we all assume we
have another year. We don’t tell the ones we love how much we love them often
enough because we assume there’s always tomorrow. And we fear. Oh, do we fear.
We stick it out in miserable jobs and situations because we’re afraid of the
risk of stepping out. We don’t reach high enough or far enough because we’re
worried we’ll fail, forgetting – or never realizing – that it’s better to fail
spectacularly while reaching for the stars than it is to succeed at something
we never really wanted in the first place.
A woman emailed earlier this year. Her husband,
the love of her life, was a fan of mine and he’d just come through a tough
fight with Leukemia. She asked if I’d take some time with him, go shooting with
him if he came to Vancouver, sort of as a celebration of his recovery. I said
yes, of course, how could I not. But I was busy, about to travel, and could we
do it in a couple months when summer rolled around and I had time to host him.
Of course. Let’s talk soon. I got back two months later and sent an email
saying, let’s make it happen! And 5 minutes later got a reply telling me the
leukemia had returned with speed and fury and within days he’d gone. Even now,
I’m writing this with tears, though anyone that knows me knows it doesn’t take
much.
We think we’ve got forever and that these
concerns that weigh us down are so pressing. We worry about the trivial to the neglect of the most
precious thing we have: moments we’ll never see again. We talk of killing time,
passing time, and getting through the week, forgetting we’re wishing away the
moments that comprise our lives. We say time is money when in fact the time we
have is ALL we have. Money can be borrowed, time can’t. We
fear taking risks, unaware that the biggest risk we run in playing it safe is
in fact living as long as we hope and never doing the things we dreamed of. And
then it’s too late. We watched our favorite TV shows, we fought a losing battle
with our weight, we picked up the guitar once in a while and never quite
finished the french language courses we wanted to do. We managed to get a large
flat screen and new cars once in a while, but the list of things we’d have done
if we could really, truly could have done anything, kept growing. And we never
did them.
I don’t know how to wrap this up. There’s no
resolution. I was in Sarajevo last week thinking about all this; I’d be walking
the old city thinking how amazing it was, looking into the hills that surround
it. And then it occurred to me, just over 15 years ago the citizen of Sarajevo
that stood in this spot was likely to be hit by mortar shells or sniper fire.
We’re all terminal folks. We’re all in the sniper scope. We’ve got less time that
we think. For every ten people that email me and say, “I wish I could do what
you’re doing. I wish I could follow my dreams, I wish, I wish…,” I wonder if
even one moves forward. I hope so.
Whatever your dream is,
find a way to make it happen.
Your kids can come with you. Your job can wait.
You can find someone to feed the cat. I know, I know, there are so many reasons
we can’t and some of those reasons are valid. Life is not only short, it is
also sometimes profoundly hard. But I think sometimes our reasons are
in fact only excuses. If that’s the case, take stock. I talk a lot about
living the dream, and I’m an idealist, I know it. But it’s not self-help,
positive-thinking, wish-upon-a-star. It’s the realization that life is short
and no one is going to live my life on my behalf. And one day soon – because
it’ll seem that way, I know it – my candle will burn out; I want it to burn hot
and bright while it’s still lit. I want it to light fires and set others
ablaze.
Life is short. Live it now. And live it with all
your strength and passion now. Don’t keep it in reserve against a day you might
not have. While the ember is still lit, fan it to flame. Be
bold about it, even if your circumstances mean all you have is to love boldly
and laugh boldly. Because now is all we have, and these
dreams won’t chase themselves.
Became teary-eyed reading this. Sometimes we're too worried preparing for tomorrow that we're forgetting to live now. Life is indeed short. It could probably be shorter for some. So we must stop taking everyday for granted, and must start living the life we've always wanted. God is always with us today and tomorrow, so must not worry and just live now.
ReplyDeletewe must stop taking our lives, the people we care and who cares about us the most, and the dreams we truly cherish for granted, glad you were happy about this read! i was too!
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