LIFE – the option really sucks

Once in a while, do you stop and look at your life, what you have lived so far, your childhood, your family and friends, experiences, tears and laughter, school, changing from diapers to child to adult, first job, love, kiss and car? Do you find that you are where you planned to be, or did the road twist, turn, stop and go in so many surprisingly different and perhaps exciting ways?

Today, are you surrounded by people you love and respect, people who make your life rich, fun, colorful and exciting? Do you feel that your future dreams and goals will come true?

But most importantly, how often do you acknowledge and fully appreciate this great wonder called LIFE? I hope it’s often, because compared to life - the option really sucks.

I find it utterly fascinating when I try to comprehend all these billions of things that are keeping us together inside and out, make us function, stay alive and still be able to watch Dancing with the Stars without puking. My brilliant point is that we should appreciate this life thing a heck of a lot more, and not so ignorantly take it all for granted – because that’s what we do – but we shouldn’t.

 It was the Greek philosopher Socrates (notice: he only had one name, just like Cher, Sting, God and Bambi), who asked: “How should one live?” I think he was hinting virtues with respect to living. Perhaps moral aspects of conduct, observing duties, rules, laws and regulations, whatever that might be, as well as contributing to general welfare amongst us. All pretty cool stuff.

Aristotle was another one-named Greek dude; though incidentally, some believe his first name was Benjamin (Benny, among his bowling buddies). Benny talked about The Good Life, not solely referring to his bowling average, but a life based on human fulfillment; many parts of that philosophy landed on what we today know as morality. He saw The Good Life as being a life that flourished and was successful. Socrates, Benny A. and Peter S. - thinking alike, yet again...

To me a good life is one we live with meaning. How much meaning we care to provide for ourselves and for the people around us, has ALL to do with how willing we are to work toward the quality of this good life thing. But Meaning is not something that will be presented to us on a silver platter; it is purely something we must create and work for, if a meaningful life is what we want.

For some, quality of life is based on materialistic goodies, which are money, property, travels, cars and expensive habits. Some feel that being measured by what they surround themselves with, dress up in, etc. is what counts; it makes them feel good and is their measure of meaning. I fully respect that.

Other people find gratifying meaning in life by simpler things, different values dominate, are perhaps easier to produce, but are as effective. Sure I could write a fat book about the differences, the multitude of levels, but why bother, because in the end it all comes down to the fact that wherever you are, whatever level you find yourself on, the meaning of life means precisely the same thing, has the same values, but in so many different ways – and that is so fascinating; don’t you think? But do we appreciate all this – life?

When you sit among friends, having a glass of wine or two, lots of chatter and laughter, do you once in a while pause within yourself, smile and mumble: “It doesn’t get any better than this…”? I hope you do. It is something that takes a split second, but is so powerful. When it happens to me, it is nothing I can force – it just comes to me as an emotion and I react accordingly. Euphoric is the only word that can describe it; some of the meaning of my life, manifested in one split second – once in a while.

The unfortunate normality concerning the lack of appreciation of life is that we are too darn busy to notice what’s going on around us. Some forge ahead at super-speed wearing blinders, with over-packed schedules and wishes that 24/7 was more like 48/7.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the pathetic, non-active and total lack of energy individuals, with no clue as to what this is all about and what they are missing. Sure “to-each-his-or-her-own”, but please…

And then there are all the rest of us who are floating around in the middle, living what we perhaps can acknowledge as a fairly normal life on a comfortable level. That is not stated as an arrogant observation, as I’m floating right along with you.

But no matter where in the mix we are, my concern is that we do not appreciate LIFE as often and as much as we should; we do not stop and smell the roses; not even literally. We take way too many things for granted. We don’t always see the people right in front of our faces – they are just there, as they always are and as they should always be; it’s what we expect, but rarely appreciate. Don’t you think that is sad?

Do we appreciate and acknowledge the awesome nature we are surrounded by, that we have been blessed with, but that we don’t really see? What about the buildings in a city, flying at 35,000 feet, flushing toilets, computers, cute bunnies named Fluffy, medicine and science, technology and education; how about your awesome friend, partner, children, colleagues, wife and husband? Are we really that blind – on a daily basis? Shouldn’t we open our eyes and suck it all in – at least once in a while? I hope you do – really; because life is precious and we should live and acknowledge it accordingly.

Of course there are thousands of things that can and do go wrong. We might struggle with sadness, depression and sorrow, agony, disappointment, failure, jealousy and envy, our favorite voted out of Dancing with the Stars, illness, impairments – and the list is awful and long. This is the unfortunate darker side of our existence, but it is still part of what life is also about – the side we have to deal with and adjust to.

In most cases we do have choices with respect to how we handle and adjust to our lower moments. Start by stepping back and take a wider look at life’s bigger picture, acknowledge the billions of things we can and should and must appreciate, and the perspective opens up. Sure it does not always solve our problems, but it sure helps when we give it a try – it really does.

Just look at the people around you. Study (without stalking or drooling) how they interact, their emotions, laughs and cries – it’s priceless. Take good care of yourself, your friends and family; they will take good care of you in return. Let them know often, how much you love and appreciate them. They might look at you with a surprised smirk on their faces, but then they will smile and tell you the same; we all want to be told – but we just forget to tell each other more often.

I like my life; I have lived it well. So many ups mixed with a few downs; overall it has been and it is grand – seriously. I don’t take many things for granted anymore, but I still make that extra effort to stop and smell the roses and not just literally.

This is how much I appreciate life – but not only because the option really sucks…

Till next Monday – tell somebody…okay?