Life is short
I'd love to say with no hesitation that CPR saves lives every single time. But the reality is that it doesn't. For some people when it is their time to pass away, it is just that. It is their time - and we have to accept that.
This is not meant to be a morbid post, but rather a reflection upon how short life can be. Tonight I attended a wake for a former co-worker who is not that much older than I am. He leaves behind a beautiful family and a community that he was heavily involved with.
As I drove home I started to think about how short life can be and sometimes how much time we waste on things that perhaps are not as important in the bigger picture. I have had a very stressful week full of car problems, extra bills (thanks to my car) and some hurt feelings at home. But tonight I realized that all those things that I stressed and obsessed about all week really shouldn't define or direct how I live my life from day to day. Many others have said that we define and set the path of our own happiness and yes they are true. Sometimes it takes a sad or tragic event to pull us out of our daily grind and provide us with the reminder to take a look at the big picture. The challenge is not to make this a short single event reflection, but to look at what we should and could be doing to make the time we do have as happy, enriching, and yes as productive as it can be.
For me I have realized that I am spending too much time obsessing on things and on social media; and not enough time with my family and business. I know I reasonably cannot completely change my habits overnight, but I am committing to making my daily interactions with my family and friends matter. My family is why I mostly work from home and I need to re-prioritize that in my daily routine. Even though I am with my children 160-164 hours a week, just being within proximity is not the same as being with them. My attention is not with them if I am checking email, websites, etc. I have so many people who have reached out to me in friendship and networking that I have not fully reciprocated with, and that is to my detriment.
So perhaps I am standing on soapbox that I will promptly fall off of tomorrow. Hopefully not. But while I am sad of the events that have brought me to this self reflection I am hoping that I am able to learn from this. Life is short. We don't know how long we have to make an impact on others, nor do I think any of us want to really know how long we're going to be around. The question for each of us is how do we want others to remember us and how do we really want to spend our lives. What is our bigger picture, and who and how do we want to fit into that frame.
This is not meant to be a morbid post, but rather a reflection upon how short life can be. Tonight I attended a wake for a former co-worker who is not that much older than I am. He leaves behind a beautiful family and a community that he was heavily involved with.
As I drove home I started to think about how short life can be and sometimes how much time we waste on things that perhaps are not as important in the bigger picture. I have had a very stressful week full of car problems, extra bills (thanks to my car) and some hurt feelings at home. But tonight I realized that all those things that I stressed and obsessed about all week really shouldn't define or direct how I live my life from day to day. Many others have said that we define and set the path of our own happiness and yes they are true. Sometimes it takes a sad or tragic event to pull us out of our daily grind and provide us with the reminder to take a look at the big picture. The challenge is not to make this a short single event reflection, but to look at what we should and could be doing to make the time we do have as happy, enriching, and yes as productive as it can be.
For me I have realized that I am spending too much time obsessing on things and on social media; and not enough time with my family and business. I know I reasonably cannot completely change my habits overnight, but I am committing to making my daily interactions with my family and friends matter. My family is why I mostly work from home and I need to re-prioritize that in my daily routine. Even though I am with my children 160-164 hours a week, just being within proximity is not the same as being with them. My attention is not with them if I am checking email, websites, etc. I have so many people who have reached out to me in friendship and networking that I have not fully reciprocated with, and that is to my detriment.
So perhaps I am standing on soapbox that I will promptly fall off of tomorrow. Hopefully not. But while I am sad of the events that have brought me to this self reflection I am hoping that I am able to learn from this. Life is short. We don't know how long we have to make an impact on others, nor do I think any of us want to really know how long we're going to be around. The question for each of us is how do we want others to remember us and how do we really want to spend our lives. What is our bigger picture, and who and how do we want to fit into that frame.
Comments
Post a Comment