When we contemplate the shortness of life, and become fully appreciative of the wonder of this brief time we’ve been given … life can take on a poignant quality. Let’s jump on the stage, and create the meaningful play ourselves! It’s like sitting in front of an empty stage, waiting and hoping to be entertained with something meaningful. What if we were the creators of meaning in our own lives? What if there was no one to tell us the meaning, and there would be no meaning until we created it ourselves? This is a willingness to take full responsibility for our lives that can always be stepped into, in any moment. It our tendency to look for answers from outside of ourselves. We might wonder what is the meaning of this short life, what’s the point of it all? It’s almost like we’re hoping someone will reveal the meaning of things to us - here’s what it’s all about, take some notes. The struggles aren’t a thing we have to get through … they’re a big part of the thing itself.Ĭould we view this life as a crucible that helps forge us, that helps uncover who we really are? And embrace the struggles as a beautiful place of learning and wonder? What if the struggles were a part of the point of this limited time we have living? The struggles are what form us, what cause growth and learning, that have us grow into our full selves. And these struggles can seem like something we have to get through before we can finally start living the life we want. When we have struggles in our lives, we think that something’s wrong, that we shouldn’t be struggling. What if we could forget for a bit about how we look, how we are coming across, whether we’re OK … and instead fully loved the breathtaking sunset in front of us?Įven more … what would it be like to love all of it, all the other beings, all of it … ourselves included? What if we could live a life full of wonder, joy, love, fully alive?ĭo we want to spend the hour we have at the playground trying to rigidly make sure we’re doing the merry-go-round correctly, or do we want to have a raucous good time?ĭo we want to spend this limited time on earth constantly worried about ourselves, doing things right, what people are thinking about us, whether we’re being loved or respected? This is like watching a glorious sunset worrying about whether it’s lighting you just right for your selfie. Hey bozo! Make the most of your one scene! Make an impact with what you have.ĭo we want to spend the limited time we have putting our noses to the grindstone and trying to do what we think we should do? Do we want to spend it feeling dull? This is like an actor who finally gets a chance to go on stage and spends the time moaning that he only gets one scene. It’s a limited resource, but we don’t need to complain about its shortness. It’s not the case that life is “short” – this is a kind of judgment, because we want more. What if we could savor the day we’re currently living? You can’t enjoy the meal you’re eating now. That’s like thinking about future meals, while you’re eating your current meal. And so we miss out on the day that’s here right now. Often we use up the current day worrying about or dreaming about upcoming days. When someone hands you an incredibly valuable gift, do you ask them why there’s so little of it? Or do you rejoice at what you’ve been given?Ĭould we appreciate every single day as a valuable, powerful, joyous gift? Instead, we could fully appreciate this limited gift. But that’s just another way to take for granted what we’ve been given. We do that because we believe it should be some other way. We could fret about the limited nature of our lives, get sad or fall apart about it. Remembering this, I can make the most of the days I have left with people I care about - including myself. If I’d known the last visit from my dad would have been his last, I would have cherished those days even more. Or we could wake up to the brief time we have here, and decide to make the most of it. We could ignore the very limited nature of this life, and take it for granted, and find ourselves at the end of our lives with regret that we didn’t use it more wisely. Today I’d like to share a series of brief contemplations on the shortness of life, that I find valuable. Most of us avoid thinking about it, or get worked up or sad when we think about it. We could use a daily contemplation on how limited our time is in this life. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.” “You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed.
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