Live Life
So instead of a snarky blog entry tonight, I figured I'd write a sort of serious blog/journal entry. I have a life motto. It's not all that unique or original and a lot of people have or claim to have the same life mission statement. And it is simply: "No regrets"
Lucille Ball owns one of my favorite quotes of all time - "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done." It's how I try to live my life. When this great journey is over, I want to look back and have as little regrets as possible. And if I have regrets, I want them to be for things I actually did and not for things I wish I had done. And although I try to live by this motto, I still fail on occasion. But for the most part I have lived my life unapologetically the way I've wanted to with no regard to how others may have perceived or may perceive it. Sometimes people say to me that they're jealous of the life I live. Or that they wish they could do the things I do. And let's be clear, I don't do anything too amazing. I haven't traveled nearly as much as I've wanted to, at least not internationally. And that is one regret I can cop to that I'm guilty of NOT doing. But I do have a relatively carefree attitude. And I tend to be quasi spontaneous because routine scares the crap out of me. But when people tell me they wish they could do some things I do, my challenge to them is then why don't they? There's that age old adage that there are a million reasons not to do things compared to a few to actually do it. The trick is to ignore all the rational, easy-to-use excuses and just roll with it. Some of my best memories are tied to spontaneous"gut" decisions. Not all of them have worked out but I wouldn't say I regretted any of them, even if a few of them brought painful results.
I got reflective tonight because my great uncle passed away. He was 91. He was my grandmother's sister's husband. And I started thinking, here is my great aunt, completely torn up over the death of her husband, the love of her life, and she got to spend something like 70 years with him. On the flip side, my grandmother, who I am very close to, lost her husband, my grandfather, while she was still young. And she hasn't allowed herself to love or think about another man ever since he passed. And it got me thinking... you just never know if you're going to have 90 years or 40 years. 100 years or 30 years. And I feel I live my life in a way where I try to take advantage of that. Life is finite. We never know when it'll be taken. So enjoy it. Make the good moments great and let the bad moments pass. Learn from them and move on.
I realize this all sounds very zen and I don't mean to sound preachy. But I think that we as a society, as a culture, sometimes just let life engulf us to the point where we stop appreciating the unknown of each day. If every day is the same, where is the fun in that? I understand routines are necessary. But I also don't understand people that follow them stringently and then look back and realize years have gone by and they don't know where the time went. Of course, I'm being quasi hypocritical. Some can point to my habits and behaviors and attack them as being routine in an alternative way. And I understand that. I lambast people who stick to a regimen that doesn't vary, seems repetitive and boring, and in the end feels unfulfilling. Yet my idea of non-regimented routine consists of doing the same things over and over, albeit in a more social manner.
So what's my point? Essentially, it's live your life. If things make you happy, I don't understand why people don't do those things more. And that can be anything, right? If you love your job then work hard at it. If you love to learn, bury yourself in classes or books. If you love to travel, make vacations a priority. Too many times our lives are interfered with by (in the long run) trivial situations or excuses that cause us to hold back from pursuing our happiness. Take advantage because you never know when you will have the chance again or IF you will. Miss someone? Tell them. Want to learn something? Sign up for that class. I've found through my cycles of life that we often don't say what we want to say or do what we want to do until it's perhaps too late. Moments pass, time goes on. But when I ponder a decision in anything I do, I'll always ask myself... "Will I regret not doing this down the road?" And if the answer is yes, then I'll try to force myself to do it. Has it always worked out? Not always. I've accrued debt because of this stance. Experienced some level of heart break because of it. Failed because of it. But it doesn't mean I regretted it. It never means I regret it. Because at least at the end of the day, I've done it. And in those instances I haven't forced myself to do it, backed off and let one of those millions of excuses get the best of me, I've looked back and I HAVE regretted it. And that's what I try to limit.
You never know if you're going to be here for the long haul or for a fleeting moment. And that's not supposed to be negative or pessimistic or inflammatory in any way. It's just what it is. And if we're blessed with this gift called life and we don't maximize our enjoyment of it, take in the beauty of it, and allow ourselves instead to just pass through, then that has to be the biggest regret of all. Again, not trying to lecture, just spewing my opinion. And I don't regret it.
My name is Macster and I don't regret this message.
Lucille Ball owns one of my favorite quotes of all time - "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done." It's how I try to live my life. When this great journey is over, I want to look back and have as little regrets as possible. And if I have regrets, I want them to be for things I actually did and not for things I wish I had done. And although I try to live by this motto, I still fail on occasion. But for the most part I have lived my life unapologetically the way I've wanted to with no regard to how others may have perceived or may perceive it. Sometimes people say to me that they're jealous of the life I live. Or that they wish they could do the things I do. And let's be clear, I don't do anything too amazing. I haven't traveled nearly as much as I've wanted to, at least not internationally. And that is one regret I can cop to that I'm guilty of NOT doing. But I do have a relatively carefree attitude. And I tend to be quasi spontaneous because routine scares the crap out of me. But when people tell me they wish they could do some things I do, my challenge to them is then why don't they? There's that age old adage that there are a million reasons not to do things compared to a few to actually do it. The trick is to ignore all the rational, easy-to-use excuses and just roll with it. Some of my best memories are tied to spontaneous"gut" decisions. Not all of them have worked out but I wouldn't say I regretted any of them, even if a few of them brought painful results.
I got reflective tonight because my great uncle passed away. He was 91. He was my grandmother's sister's husband. And I started thinking, here is my great aunt, completely torn up over the death of her husband, the love of her life, and she got to spend something like 70 years with him. On the flip side, my grandmother, who I am very close to, lost her husband, my grandfather, while she was still young. And she hasn't allowed herself to love or think about another man ever since he passed. And it got me thinking... you just never know if you're going to have 90 years or 40 years. 100 years or 30 years. And I feel I live my life in a way where I try to take advantage of that. Life is finite. We never know when it'll be taken. So enjoy it. Make the good moments great and let the bad moments pass. Learn from them and move on.
I realize this all sounds very zen and I don't mean to sound preachy. But I think that we as a society, as a culture, sometimes just let life engulf us to the point where we stop appreciating the unknown of each day. If every day is the same, where is the fun in that? I understand routines are necessary. But I also don't understand people that follow them stringently and then look back and realize years have gone by and they don't know where the time went. Of course, I'm being quasi hypocritical. Some can point to my habits and behaviors and attack them as being routine in an alternative way. And I understand that. I lambast people who stick to a regimen that doesn't vary, seems repetitive and boring, and in the end feels unfulfilling. Yet my idea of non-regimented routine consists of doing the same things over and over, albeit in a more social manner.
So what's my point? Essentially, it's live your life. If things make you happy, I don't understand why people don't do those things more. And that can be anything, right? If you love your job then work hard at it. If you love to learn, bury yourself in classes or books. If you love to travel, make vacations a priority. Too many times our lives are interfered with by (in the long run) trivial situations or excuses that cause us to hold back from pursuing our happiness. Take advantage because you never know when you will have the chance again or IF you will. Miss someone? Tell them. Want to learn something? Sign up for that class. I've found through my cycles of life that we often don't say what we want to say or do what we want to do until it's perhaps too late. Moments pass, time goes on. But when I ponder a decision in anything I do, I'll always ask myself... "Will I regret not doing this down the road?" And if the answer is yes, then I'll try to force myself to do it. Has it always worked out? Not always. I've accrued debt because of this stance. Experienced some level of heart break because of it. Failed because of it. But it doesn't mean I regretted it. It never means I regret it. Because at least at the end of the day, I've done it. And in those instances I haven't forced myself to do it, backed off and let one of those millions of excuses get the best of me, I've looked back and I HAVE regretted it. And that's what I try to limit.
You never know if you're going to be here for the long haul or for a fleeting moment. And that's not supposed to be negative or pessimistic or inflammatory in any way. It's just what it is. And if we're blessed with this gift called life and we don't maximize our enjoyment of it, take in the beauty of it, and allow ourselves instead to just pass through, then that has to be the biggest regret of all. Again, not trying to lecture, just spewing my opinion. And I don't regret it.
My name is Macster and I don't regret this message.
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