This week has been one for reflecting on the brevity of life on this earth. A human life is something precious to be cherished and treasured and I have had some sad reminders this week that life will end for all of us, it is just a question of when. In a quiet moment over lunchtime I was thinking about my life so far and wondering what my obituary would look like at this point – I guess its sort of like a checkpoint in my life journey so far. Probably it might read something along these lines….
A devoted wife and mother and stressed out teacher, Sarah was usually to be found thinking that there must be more to life. She had no time for hobbies or much time for fun during term times because she always told herself she was too busy. She dreamed of having a pet pig and writing her own book but never actually managed to do either of those things. She liked walking by the sea and drinking coffee. She always imagined that she would get more involved in the community in the future when she wasn’t so busy. She cared about issues like world poverty, inequality and fair trade but not enough to really stand up for what she believed in and take action. She believed she would have time to do everything she wanted at a later date when she wasn’t so busy, but unfortunately she ran out of time.
What has been brought sharply into focus for me this week, is that it is entirely possible that I will run out of time if I keep on putting off the things I want to do and keep postponing my development into the person I am meant to be. When the time comes for me to depart this planet I want to be remembered as a kind, caring, fun-loving, active person who loved dancing and smiled a lot. I want people to remember me as someone who made the most out of life, who sang badly, laughed often and enjoyed all that life had to offer. Here are some ideas I came up to help me realise this goal:
- Take up a new hobby
- Practice my writing more regularly
- Take more walks
- Find a group in the community that interests me and actually get involved
- Try new things – diversify my daily routine
- Don’t keep my ideas to myself – be proactive and really support the causes I care about.
- Find more and more things to smile about – don’t be so serious all the time
- Don’t use being busy as an excuse for not living the life I could be living.
Life is a gift and a blessing and it should be cherished and lived deeply – I guess that is what I mean when I say that I want to live the breadth of my life and not just the length of it.
Breadthoflife 