To tweak a famous phrase - a life is a terrible thing to waste.
As I watch my daughter grow, I marvel at her joy of discovery. She is innocent of cynicism, negativity, and insecurity. She doesn't care about popular opinion. She doesn't have regrets or shame and she is fearless. This is life! It's exciting! Not a minute is wasted.
We get one physical life. A lot of people -adults- are great at wasting it. Wasting time, potential, talent, resources, opportunities, love, food, connections, ideas. I do it. I know I'm not alone.
We want it all everything right now and will do anything to get it.
Or we put everything off until tomorrow, and will do nothing today to work toward it.
We deny ourselves, we deny our dreams, we deny the power of faith.
And somewhere along the way, we wonder what happened. We have regrets. We spend a lot of time feeling ashamed about stupid things we've done or left undone.
And one day, I asked myself:
What would happen if you shook off those regrets? (Are they doing you any good?)
What would happen if you stopped saying "No" to yourself and instead said "No" to the demands of the world a little more? Or said "Yes" to something that really might make a difference in the world?
What would happen if you refined your priorities and focused on what really matters?
What would happen if you embraced faith and starting truly living for something or Someone greater than you?
As Thomas Merton suggests:
"If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat; but ask me what I am living for, and what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for." ~Thomas Merton
So I'm asking you: What are you living for? What is keeping you from living fully for the thing you are living for?
As for me, I don't want to waste this life. It isn't a dress rehearsal. It's real. It matters. I want my life to matter.
So I'm choosing to live an intentional life. To live with passion, enthusiasm, and radiance for my God and my family. I want to treasure every minute, live with no regrets, love my neighbor as myself, and enjoy the journey.
I'd love to hear from you. We're on this journey together! Email me at myardentlife -at- gmail.com.
Life is not a dress rehearsal.
