Live it up. Live
it to the fullest. Carpe Diem. Live like you were dying.
There’s a hundred ways to say it. But they all mean the same thing….do it
now, do it today because today is what you know you’ve been given.
I don’t remember
the exact moment that I decided that I was going to live my life to the
fullest. No one wants to believe that they haven’t been really living, or
that they’ve been letting life pass them by. But one day I realized that
I was doing exactly that; day in and day out I was doing the same things over and
over again, the same routine with the same people in the same places. I
wasn’t moving forward. I wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t
living.
Why wasn’t I
living? Fear. That’s the only reason I have. I
was afraid of failing. I was afraid of feeling embarrassed or being
laughed at. I was afraid that I would fall, that I would get hurt, or
that I could die some awful painful death. I was afraid of any and
everything unknown. But then one day I realized that of all of my fears,
not a single one of them was as scary as the idea that someday I might turn
around, look at my life and not see a single, spectacular thing. I was
terrified that something would happen to me and my life would flash before my
eyes and all I would see was the same daily routine.
That fear changed my
life. The question was no longer “What do I have to fear?”, the question
became “What can I do and what can I see?”. I realized that I don’t
remember a life before this one, so I needed to make the most of it.
No, I don’t have a
bucket list. I hate the concept of a “Bucket List”. I didn’t care for the
movie and it pains my heart to have to watch it nearly every time it comes on
out of love for Morgan Freeman. Like everyone I have things I want to do,
see, and experience, but instead of following some list I decided that I was going to
live my life OPEN. My motto was going to be “Try everything once” and
since that day, I have.
Life is truly
incredible. When I stopped saying “No” and started saying “Why not?” my
life got a lot more interesting. I’ve seen so many amazing, stupid
and unique things. I’ve learned new things. I’ve loved and been
loved by people that many don’t get close to because of where they are in life,
or what they believe.
I can’t tell you enough
about all the awesome stuff I’ve done. So, I’ll be that annoying person
who shows you in pictures.
30ft tall Eyeball, taken from inside my car
That's
me, and my nephew's hand, feeding a baby tiger from a bottle
The Fort Worth Stockyards. I love Texas and this is a truly
awesome thing to see
Don’t let it pass you
by. Life is just too short. Anyone who has ever lost
someone who was young can tell you this. It doesn’t have to be some big
major thing, start small like I did. When I go somewhere far away, I look
up all of the little roadside oddities I can stop and see on the way
(http://www.roadsideamerica.com). I’ve opened my mind to talking with
people from different races and cultures and people who subscribe to different
ideas. I make it a point to visit different ethnic restaurants and I try
everything on the buffet.
I’ll leave you with this
quote, that has been adapted and changed so many times over and I’m not even
sure who the original author was. But, it says everything we all ought to
know:
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - drink in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"
Wonderful !!
ReplyDeleteFear will stop us from living.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we think we're protecting ourselves from the scary things in life but when we stay in our tiny comfort zones we only hurt our chances of exploring and enjoying life.
Great piece! So glad you're enjoying life & living life like we all should :-)
I'm kind of on the Forrest Gump plan. I was along for the ride, and nothing at all to do with me, and completely due to the events surrounding me, have found myself having ridden a pretty unbelievable roller coaster thus far. Only very recently, like the past 5 years have I made the conscious decision to be intentional and world changing, even. I'm pretty excited to see the rest of the story, given what has happened when I was just phoning it in. Glad to know you, kid. :)
ReplyDelete