As it began...

Sometimes Life seems to get in the way of Living.

I'm not claiming this is a new or even an original idea. I've talked about this before, I've read plenty of articles from others talking about the same or similar things. And the very first time this line of thinking even entered my head was because of quotes from old writings by men a lot smarter than myself.

I just realize from time to time that I still see my life as "on hold". As Colin Hay so succinctly put it (and as I quoted last time we talked about this) "I'm waiting for my real life to begin." It seems like there's always something we're waiting for, some step we need to take or a place that needs to find us before we can start living. Whether you're fifteen and counting down the days 'till you can get your license or if you're sixty and counting down the months 'till you can get at your 401k.

Everyone seems to be waiting for something.

Maybe you're 22 and you just can't wait 'till you're finally done with school, so that you can start your real job, make your real friends, start a real relationship, buy a real house, maybe start a real family.

There's a lot of quotes from songs and movies that I feel express this same sentiment.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it."

And one of my personal favorites, perhaps a little less directly related...Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets"

"What if this... is as good as it gets?"

So maybe that last one's a little more on the depressing side, and not quite in the same vein as the others but...I mean think about it. You're going to incur more debt. You're going to have to work more and harder. You're going to have more responsibility. You're going to have more heartache. You're going to have more physical ailments. Your life is going to get harder.

Maybe this is as good as it gets.

Maybe life isn't just around the corner, maybe life isn't about to start.

Maybe life started the day you were born, and it's passing you by every day you wait for it to just happen for you.

And maybe, just maybe...that shouldn't depress you. The fact that life's going to get harder should make you appreciate what you have now all the more. And the fact that it's going to get harder means that the joys will get to be bigger too. Imagine actually owning your own house! What a huge responsibility, financially and just in time and effort. But how cool :)

Imagine being married to the person you love. Sure it's the second biggest commitment you can make to another human being, and it'll be hard, and painful, and expensive, and scary. But imagine actually getting to be with the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with every day.

Imagine having kids. The single greatest responsibility any person on earth can have is to have children. The scariest job, the most pressure, the most time consuming and confusing and hardest thing you'll probably ever have to do. But you'll have a child. A child. Your son or your daughter.

Life is gonna get harder, but it'll get more rewarding. Things will never ever be perfect, and they'll very rarely turn out according to your carefully laid plans, but it's life.

Your life isn't waiting for you to finish school. Your life isn't waiting for you to start your career, or find your house, or start your family. Your life isn't waiting for your kids to go off to college or for you to retire. Your life is happening every day, and the only thing stopping you from living it, is you.

And by you, I mean me. This of course, is a blog of my thoughts directed at my self, I can't speak for anyone else. All I hope is that what I write makes sense to someone other than me.

Thanks for reading,

loren

P.S. This is a great quote...I think it sums these thoughts up nicely. I'm trying really hard to be this person...especially the last line :)

"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching."