Originally posted on Facebook HERE
Been thinking about this quote from the Dali Lama lately – when asked what surprises him the most, he said: “Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future, that he does not enjoy the present moment. As a result, he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never truly lived.” – There’s a lot to think about in there. I see it all the time – people working jobs that are taking a huge toll on them physically and/ or mentally. The older they get the harder to keep doing it, but they can’t stop because they need the money, or the insurance, or both… because the insurance is needed to pay for the treatment stemming from the ailments the work caused and now it’s a catch-22. And too many people get to the end, finally retire, and pass away soon after never being able to reap the rewards of their entire life’s work. How much of our days are eaten up by guilt and shame over the past and/or anxiety about the future? How often do we just enjoy the moment? How often to we take time to step back and say to ourselves, “I am so grateful”? How is it possible, and what do we need to do so that when the end comes – and it’s coming for every one of us – we can get there saying, as we look back, “I have truly lived”? We need to know what we value, first and foremost – what is it that stirs our heart? Where are our passions? Who are the people that awaken our hearts, what are the places we love to spend time at, what activities are important to us to our very core? How can we open our heart, share more love and have a positive impact on the world around us? This process takes a lot of time, finding out what our core values are, what’s truly important. But without knowing what’s important, how could we live a life in accordance with values we haven’t even gotten in touch with? Once we have a good feel for what is truly important to us – the people, places and things we want to do and spend time with – take a look at how you’re living. How much time is spent in activities that open your heart, that make you feel grateful, where you don’t want the moment to end?… As a species, we don’t get enough of that. And the older we get the easier it is to forget to even look at what’s truly important to us – family, friends, health, spirituality – whatever that is for you, and set yourself up for success. Thoreau said this: “I wished to live deliberately… and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Get in touch with the things that are truly important to you, then start living from there. We don’t have time to live any other way.
