As we start to settle our feet in the sands of 2015, I am sure we have all taken some time for a little self reflection. We have looked back over the last year and taken stock of what we have done. We have taken inventory of our lives to determine what we have left and what we need to gain. We have given deep thought to our past decisions and assessed their effectiveness in our lives to this point. We have done all of this to help us determine which path we will take moving forward.
How many of us have given thought to the fact that there is a grave difference between living and being alive? So, as we look back over not just 2014 but the years prior, I suspect not many of us have examined whether we are embracing life by loving the life we live or just existing by merely avoiding death!
I was sharing with a friend of mine whose family member was diagnosed with a terminal disease. In our humanness, when we get news like this, we tend to go into survival mode. We often forget to embrace life and all it has to offer and immediately go into the caution zone. Here we become afraid to live, laugh and enjoy life as if it will offend death in someway. Truth be told, someone with a terminal illness can out live someone who is "fit as a fiddle!" So, why not embrace those moments of love and joy that can never be replaced. The worst thing that can happen is if your loved one does pass away, you'll have some wonderful memories to help you live on.
There are some of us who have not been given a grave diagnosis yet we live our lives as if we are just avoiding death. Even when we do things such as eating right or exercising, we don't take the time to really enjoy the meal or the moment. We just want to get it over because it will supposedly help us live longer, healthier lives but we don't like doing it. If you are eating healthy it doesn't mean the food has to be awful. Try new recipes and savor every bite! Test yourself as you exercise. Make a game of it. Beat your last result or challenge a friend to a duel. Enjoy the moment!We tend to let the great moments pass by too quickly and linger much too long with the moments that are not so great.
So, as you continue to walk through the sands of time, take the time to enjoy every God given moment that brings you joy and find a way to quickly dismiss the moments that don't.
You get to choose!
There is a coaching principle that states, "Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional." You get to choose how long you want to suffer through the pain the waves of life wash upon your shore. Though some waves are higher and more severe than others, if you learn to ride the waves and stay afloat, there's no wave you can not endure! Embrace the wave or risk drowning in the sea of life!
The next time you find yourself having to make a decision about how you are going to live your life, let one factor be whether the decision will help you embrace life or will it simply help you to avoid death!
