Life is Too Short

My most recent discovery is less a discovery and more of a realization. A discovery of the most complex kind fueled by self reflection and in-depth thought. This new concept is in fact not new at all, but an old cliché that is embedded in our minds through the use of insightful wall art you find at home stores or on graphic tees you wish your grandmother never gave you. The overall theme of these 'quotes' can be summed up in four words, Life is too short.

Although this idea seems basic and lacking in a need of any thoughtful understanding it's simplicity is what makes this idea so complex. We know life is short, but we never internalize this concept and incorporate it into our everyday lives and why is that? Is life too short to spend thinking about life itself?

No, life is too short to stress about a paper that needs to be written. Life is too short to put all your effort into a job you don't love. Life is too short to argue with the people you care about. Life is too short not to be happy.

Now I'm not saying all of those things aren't important. That paper needs to be written and ya it's probably a lot of work. You might not love your job, but the pay is good and you have bills to pay and not arguing with the people we care about? Ya right, but there is something that needs to also be considered. It's one of the most important things a person can have, an invaluable tool that will help you in every situation and that's perspective.

Yes, no matter how bad things are they can always be worse. No matter how bad things are for you, someone has it worse. We know about starving children in Africa, we know about oppressed women in the Middle East. We know that Genocide occurs in other parts of the world. We read stories about girls being killed in China or women being murdered by their own family members because they have been dishonored. We all know about the people in Egypt, Bahrain and Libya fighting for rights we consider innate. We know all of these things and yet we separate them from our everyday life because we can't stop them from happening. We lose perspective.

The easiest way to gain perspective is to look at the overall picture of your life. Unless you believe in reincarnation you only have one shot at this, one chance to get everything right. Don’t ever forget that life is too short and it moves too fast. The rest of the world is not going to wait for us to become the people we want to be in the future. Start being that person right now.

Don’t take life too seriously. Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”. When you’re in school just remember you are there because you chose to be, it is a chance to learn and gain understanding. When you’re at work, working so hard you can’t remember when the last time you stopped to breathe. Relax. Gain perspective and figure out how to make yourself happy, otherwise what is the point?

In the end a lifetime of unhappiness doesn’t get you anything but regret. Happiness is everything and can be achieved by such simple means. People who have love want money; people who have money want more love. People who have both will most certainly find something else to want, but what if we were happy just to be alive, happy to see a bunny hopping along a river, or to see the snow fall, happy to see a baby smile or happy to watch a flower bloom. Life is too short not to be happy.

So, Next time you see that wooden sign, meant to hang on the back of your door stop and read it, take a minute and really think about the words and your life. Maybe, just maybe you will walk away smiling.