If you live in the developed world, you’re unimaginably lucky. You can probably get something to eat at any hour of the day. You can eat Mexican food for lunch and Ethiopian for dinner. If you want neon markers, nine inch nails, or an antique lamp, you can probably have it at your doorstep the next day. Doctor, lawyer, or Indian chief – any career path is open to you as well. You can have a house by the water or one in town. It’s all available.
For many of us, the ease of acquisition has made us a bit jaded. If you’d like to shake that off, be choosy. Pay attention to how you spend your time and resources. Choose things that matter. Savor them. Let the things in your life be a reflection of your life, not your whole life.
When people, things, and experiences are cheap and easy, we can devalue them in our minds. If we have a lifetime of cheap, easy, and meaningless people, things, or experiences, that is what our life becomes. We all want a meaningful life.
Think about what you did today. Does any of it matter? Think about what you created, who you loved. Is there anything there that has any lasting value? What did you acquire? Was it anything of value?
When you come to points of decisions, be choosy. The choices you make hugely impact your life and also the world around you. Look at your food choices, for example. The quick, cheap food that you eat today creates the body you live in tomorrow. A healthy, active body needs nutritious food.
What about your time? How much time did you spend caring for your body? How much did you spend maintaining your environment. This is where you live. Energy flows in a healthy way in tidy, well cared for spaces. If you aren’t investing in the maintenance of your body and living space, you’re setting yourself up for a less than ideal mental, physical, and spiritual life.
The days of slavery are gone, but if we just do what’s comfortable or habitual, if we follow the pack, we may end up living a life we didn’t choose. Since you have the ability to do something different, that would be a terrible waste. There is so much opportunity. Everything is truly in abundance. Don’t be a zombie. Don’t negate your options. Say yes to what you want.
Every day I help people relive past lives where there was no choice. There were social, religious, cultural, legal, and familial obligations that would not allow them to do the thing that could make them truly happy. For most of us today that is no longer true.
Don’t waste the opportunity to make life a daring, healthy, happy adventure. This is the only shot you have at this life. Make it a good one.