On Life

many people look out from their office windows and from their apartment windows and beg the fleeting question, “What is this for?” I recently had a long conversation with a French bookstore owner in Annecy about the very question. With all that is available to us in this time, this moment in the timeline of humankind, many people are lost at the prospect of answering the question.

Others, far more wise and versed in the various ways life drifts through time, try to explain the meaning of life through religious ideals; God’s objective for them in this existence. And more still have been heard to say that God is found in the mountains, one of the beauties of all creation. But this guy, here and now, writing the ideas of a sullen heart has but a couple of unsubstantiated ideas.

Life isn’t necessarily about leaving a mark. What you do will naturally do that, for better or worse folks will continue to live on after and take what you’ve done with life and quicken their own. The life of a businessman is remembered for his trials and success in his work. The family man is remembered for his love toward others and his own. Sometimes these two are one person. Then we have the explorer, known for disappearing for days and years discovering the world, knowing beautiful people and standing in wonderful places.

It’s been 10 years now since one of my childhood friends passed away. It’s been 12 hours since my father went the way of the resting. When my friend died it sent me to my knees. He lived a life of adventure. And goodbye was never an option. My father worked his life away and his body didn’t hold up. His work benefited his employer and his family. With a combination of stress, diet, and lifestyle he spent the last decade in and out of hospitals and treatment centers.

They say that life is short. And that it’s important to do the things that are important to you, be with those that are important to you, and to be present for every precious moment. Why would I trade the breath of life for my job? Why would I trade a moment with my mother to run errands? Why do we continue to see other things as more important than being present for the beauty of life? Is it just the American way? Are we so busy with work and success that everything else is second rate?

We’re so busy “being busy” and “doing stuff” that we’ve lost that part of our humanity. Go about your day and think about it.