The Length of a Life

public.jpeg

I’m not a fan of the saying “life is short.” While I stand by the premise that decisions should be made (to an extent) from an emotional, heart-based standpoint, the timeline of a lifespan shouldn’t have to dictate that we follow our callings, be spontaneous, or take risks.

So here’s a hot take. Life is the quite literally the longest thing you will ever experience. From the moment you first open your eyes to the last time they close, you’re living your life. Yes, it ends—let’s not make it morbid. But the entire time your human body exists on this planet, your life continues. That being said, we can assume that we have an indefinite amount of time to make all the decisions, reach all the goals, and achieve the highest forms of ourselves. Therefore, the phrase “life is short” is essentially a means of justifying sporadic decisions to live the way we’d rather. Life isn’t short at all, we’re just highly evolved procrastinators.

The caveat to this, of course, is that time is relative and it’s all too easy to place oneself in the constricting box of comfort. What I mean by this, is that while each individual is experiencing a different reality than the next, the human race collectively decided (somewhat unconsciously) that there is only an allotted amount of “time” in which to accomplish something. This decision can either project one into a state of free-for-all-decision-making based off the idea that they are running out of time, or keep one stagnant with the mindset that they’ll get around to it later.

The real kicker here, is that there needs to be an equal balance of honoring a time frame and setting a specific date for a goal, and spontaneous decision-making. A real yin and yang. Yes, the concept of time is socially constructed, and a life can seem short if you let it, but thinking this way focuses more on the lack of time left in a life. This goes the other way too! Forever pushing off pipe dreams because there is time later is equally dangerous, because if there is always time later, this ensures that things will never be accomplished, and suddenly life “gets away from you.” Flash forward 40 years, you’re saying life was short.

Being that we know two facts: 1. life is our longest feat, and 2. we are living it right now, let these be your motivators to get after what is calling you, and make no excuses—not because life is short, but because life deserves to be lived.

Love you.

—Anna