Tags
Dreams, experience, life, live, travel
On Thursday, my husband recieved sad news. A work colleague of his suddenly passed away after suffering from a heart attack. He was only 5 years older than my husband.
This is the second time my husband lost a collegue suddenly, and the second heart attack victim in our small circle. Both deaths shook us to the core and reminded us that life is precious, it is fleeting, and it is meant to be lived.
For most of my adult life, I’ve been surround by people who wait to experience life ‘when they’re older’, or ‘when the kids are older’, or ‘when they retire’, or ‘when they have more money’. I understand the concept of saving up for something, whether it be money or time, but I’ve also realized that money and time are ripe with ambiguity. There are always going to be bills to be paid and we think we have all the time in the world to live the life we want. But that’s not always the case. It certainly wasn’t the case of Chuck’s friends, one of whom who was taking out the trash when he died.
We think we have all the time in the world but we don’t. We put off experiencing life because we’re so conditioned to live an automated life. Commute to work (whether we like what we do or not). Stay there for 8 to 10 hrs a day, five to six days a week. Pick up dinner to go. Watch TV. Go to bed. Repeat week after week, month after month.
The sad thing is I don’t think people want to live like this. But the fear of change or failure is unfortunately stronger than the desire to live a life we want. Taking chances is risky. Saying ‘no’ now may jeopardize our job, our chances of promotion which often lead to more hours at the office. What if we try and fail? It’s better to wait until we’re ready, right?
No, it’s not. It’s easy to put off living your life because so few people seem to do it. But knock it off already. Take a chance. Grab that opportunity to travel. Treat yourself to dinner on a Tuesday night. Live! Because although you think you have time, you don’t know when it will all end. I’d rather be a poor old woman with volumes of adventures to tell then a 45 year old trying to explain to St Peter why I didn’t do anything with my life because I was too afraid to.
