Deep thoughts for a Saturday morning.
“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” – Henry Miller
Early this morning, I woke up with a start. I looked around my dark bedroom, and reality hit me right in the face… I’m not immortal, no one is. One day, I’ll be looking around just like this, and that will be my last moment. And then, I will no longer exist.
How frightening, hey?
It’s rare that my mortality really occurs to me. Is that weird? Of course, there are obvious times, like when my Dad died, that I was forced to really think about it, and realize how thankful I am that I came to be (and that my birth parents allowed me to have life). But, how often do I actually consider that one day, my conciousness will actually no longer “be”? Not often enough, I realize.
I guess that’s also the downside to not having faith in the presence of a “heaven” or everlasting life with a soul. But, I also think that forces me to live the moments, because in the grand scheme of my life, those moments really aren’t all that plentiful, so I try to enjoy each one of them.
That Henry Miller quote above is one I’ve quoted here on the blog in the past, but I haven’t *really* been living my life that awarely, obviously. I think this is a great wake-up call, though. I’m going to try harder to live more awarely, and be thankful for the life that I have. Because, it’s pretty darn awesome to be alive!
YOUR TURN: Do you ever pinch yourself into awareness, and realize how short your life really is? Does your faith (if any) help you to deal with your mortality?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Hey T, this is a great post. As you know, I don’t believe in a higher power, and sometimes I need to be reminded that I won’t be here forever. I live in a dream world much of the time, because it’s easier that way. I hope you have an excellent weekend away, kiddo.
It’s amazing how life changes without changing when we simply decide to appreciate it.
YAY for you!
Every day of my life, my friend. And thank you for putting it so directly. My dad used to say that every day is a gift, and it’s up to us to, in that first moment of being awake, recognize what we’ve been given – that one day – so that we can use it in the best way possible.
I wonder if we’d cherish life as much as we do if it were limitless. Probably not.
View Carmi´s recent blog entry: From ashes to ashes…
you have nailed it! one of those things I KNOW I should do everyday but forget … maybe if I took time to be aware, I would get less annoyed at things that don’t go right