Recovering The SelfA Journal of Hope and Healing

Living Your Dreams

Rushing to Live

by Robin Marvel

Let’s face it, we are all just a moment away from a diagnosis, tragedy, or trauma that will demand we step back and reevaluate our life as it is right now and force us to decide what we really want to experience before our time runs out.

I am not trying to be morbid or depressing, but recently I have been experiencing some of the most important people around me facing the end of their life. Not a sudden death, but the kind where a doctor tells them they have months or days to live, and eventually is here. Watching those that I love as they face the reality that there is in fact an expiration to life, that we all must face, some of us sooner than later.

These loved ones are scrambling, rushing as they schedule all the things they wanted to do in their life into this small window left to them. The idea is to get all the want-tos of life accomplished. It’s some big things they want to accomplish, like an extravagant trip to countries they’ve never seen, attending a Broadway play and meeting someone famous they idolized their whole lives. The majority of their final day wishes are simple, the easy things that were pushed aside as a life of have-tos took over: uncomplicated things like taking a car ride to their favorite place, visiting old friends, eating the foods they ruled out years ago, listening to their favorite music. The many things that they always said, “I’ll get to it tomorrow.”  The things that were pushed to the side because hey we have forever, right…..

As I watch this happening I realized how I don’t want to be that person shoving everything into a small window of life when I am faced with death, with a diagnosis that seals my fate. I refuse to watch the world go by and talk about what I am going to see, what I am going to do. I’m going to do it all now, see it all now, while I am healthy and not knowing it will be the last time I do it—soaking it in as a life experience, not a last wish.

We take this one opportunity to live and we fill it up with have tos while we forget about the want tos. We tell ourselves that tomorrow will come and we have all the time in the world to do those things we want. We forget that life is an experience to be lived now, not to be marched through ignoring our passions, and merely existing.

Don’t wait for that diagnosis, that tragedy, that small window to start experiencing your life to the fullest now, today.  As the great Paulo Coelho said, “One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Do it now.”

  1. Let yourself have fun: Stop thinking that life is all work and no play. It is so important to have a balance. Life is meant to be fun. So work hard but also play hard. Enjoy jumping in a puddle, singing your favorite song at the top of your lungs, dancing like nobody is watching, read your favorite book, whatever your definition of fun is….do that!
  2. Stop Postponing Life: Use your moments wisely: Don’t wait; we came here to run life. Stop thinking that tomorrow is going to come. Realize that this moment, this one, right here is yours and all you have. So live it; live it with purpose, kindness, and confidence.
  3. Do the Things You Want to Do: All those plans you have for when you retire, or when you get more money, or when the kids grow up, or when…….Do them now!! Get out there and experience your greatest thrills now, while you are able to. Not a moment to waste guys!

No one has the ability to know when our days will end so take today and really appreciate that you are alive and get to living friends!

About the Author

Robin Marvel is an author and speaker in the field of self development and positive parenting.  She is the mother of 5 girls, a survivor of a life of abuse, teen pregnancy, homelessness, and addiction. She helps people via providing tips and tools that motivate and encourage a hands-on approach to living an empowered life for all ages. You can learn more about Robin and book’s she’s written at http://www.robinmarvel.webs.com/.

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Recovering The Self is a forum for people to tell their stories. Individual contributors accept complete responsibility for the veracity, accuracy, and non-infringement of their reporting.
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