Do you appreciate being alive?
My answer should be yes, but I would be lying to myself if I said I truly appreciated being alive.
I was born and raised in Canada, a place where I have access to many luxuries that other people are deprived of. It is a place where I can walk around without fear of being shot. I don’t have to fight for survival like I would in living in constantly warring nation. I can go to school. I have clean water. I can be who I want to be without fear of discrimination.
I’ll admit, I take these things for granted.
That’s why I want to take some time to reflect on how lucky I am. There are people out there battling illnesses, suffering abuse, and facing problems that I may never understand. I have no right to complain. My issues pale in comparison to theirs. I shouldn’t complain about what I don’t have, rather I should appreciate the simple joys that I do have.
Learning how to die
Death. We’re all going to die at some point. It’s a natural part of life. It’s something that many of us would rather not think about, and store in our memory banks for the distant future. However, I read a book called Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, that changed my perspective on life and death.
Morrie Schwartz suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disease that gradually degenerates his muscles, ability to breath, and ultimately ends in death. There is no cure. Despite facing a terminal illness, Morrie has a series of eye-opening revelations about what life is really about:
“This is part of what a family is about, not just love. It’s knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. Not work.”
“Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.”
“I give myself a good cry if I need it, but then I concentrate on all good things still in my life.”
When I heard this, it was surprising. Some people may say that a 16-year-old like myself shouldn’t be thinking of death. Yet, it’s important to realize that when your time is almost up, your priorities shift. It’s less about material wealth and more about the comfort of having someone to talk to. During Morrie’s last few months, he still retained a happy outlook on life. I think that’s something we can all learn from.
(To see interviews with Morrie, click here)
Learning how to live
People say that you first have to lose something in order to know how much you miss it. My parents have provided me with all that I need, but perhaps that’s why I can’t truly appreciate life. Honestly, I can watch tragic news stories, but it’s not the same as experiencing it first-hand. I don’t know what it’s like to be desperate. I don’t know what it’s like to be starving. I don’t know what it’s like to be alone.
To know love is to know heartbreak. To know happiness is to know sadness. To know life is to know death.
We can never really know which day is our last. We may think we are invulnerable, but we are so fragile in actuality. It is in this impermanence, that we realize the value of our experiences and our interactions with others. Even when we pass away, our memory will live on in the hearts of those we have touched.
While we are still alive, remember to enjoy the small things. We have so much to be thankful for if we take the time to think about it. Life is beautiful: from watching the sunset paint the sky with a multitude of colors to making someone else feel happy.
I’ll end off with this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5XyPryLkSw
DFTBA! (Don’t Forget To Be Awesome!)
Check out Audrey’s post about Esther Earl where I drew some of my inspiration for my post: https://youthareawesome.com/star-out-celebrating-life-esther-earl/