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The question I pose is this: if you knew you were going to die next
week, would you do what you are doing today? Do you have a longing
for choices that are outside of your daily and weekly routines?
Do you live with regret over things that you could easily change,
but have ignored out of laziness, fear, or doubt? At some level
you probably realize that no one can make choices for you or save
you from indecision. You alone are responsible for your choices and
lack of choices. This might seem a burden at first, but should more
correctly be considered a gift because it means that you can have
a better reality if you choose to make better decisions. Life is
really that easy.
For most people, the end always comes sooner than expected
because mortality is not a consideration that is taken seriously or
realistically. Anything can happen at any time and life is truly more
open than most people will admit. Despite the safety of routines,
nature's energy is derived from her chaos, not from the regularity
imposed upon chaos. Both are needed for growth, as chaos by itself
is little more than random waves of energy, while order by itself
is merely a stagnant framework. As humans, we are assemblers that
negotiate the reality formed between the two, making us part of the
eternal symbiotic relationship between order and chaos.
This always subjects us to the possibility of a physical death, though
that is not nearly as terrible as the regret that we are capable of
suffering over prolonged periods, even throughout the remainder of
our lives. What few people consider is that the most difficult regret
comes as the final reflection of our personal consciousness when all
denial is overcome and we are honest with ourselves about what life
really was. Consider how disappointing it is to die knowing that
you let the best possibilities of life slip through your fingers.
Regret is sometimes the most honest voice we know. We dream of our
past and think of the future we could have had. It seems that we have
somehow lost that dream and our most honest voice tells us we should
have acted differently. Often it is not too late, though we are too
stubborn or too afraid to take action to do what we know will bring
us lasting fulfillment. A few small choices can change the world,
but too often we choose the safe nothing to stave off the emergence
of new paths.
Think of this as a call for a spiritual spring cleaning. Winter came
and made you hide away in protective shelter, but it also distanced
you from life. Spring is here and now it's time to live again,
which means aspiring in the open instead of resting comfortably inside.
Face yourself in the mirror and accept that if you do nothing then
nothing will happen. In other words, a routine introduces no new
energy into a system, so that system will eventually come to a stop
with you trapped inside. Ask yourself the hardest questions about
where your path is going and what you really wish to do with your life.
Avoid the lure of compromise which is certain to give you only what
you don't want. Listen instead to your own voice, not the voice of
others who might want you to make them happy at your expense.
Surely your hands are every bit as capable as you remember them to be.
If you have dreams and hopes that haunt you, resolve to pursue them
with action so you will not have to harbor the increasing regret that
comes from not trying.
Anything in the world could be yours -- if you decide you want it.
-Jesus |