The point is not how long you live, but the quality of the life you have lived. For most people, at least some level of variety is essential to emotional well-being. The purpose of being in the world is to experience it. If each day looks exactly the same as the day before, if you do the same things each and every day, time will fly by, opportunities will have been lost, and you may find that you are suddenly too old and too infirm to do much of anything at all.
This doesn't mean that you have to parachute from planes, or float down the Nile, or hike up Everest, or write the greatest work of fiction ever written - it simply means that you should try to add some variety to your day to day life. Do what you can within your means and 'practical' life to expand your horizons. Be curious about others and the world around you. Do big things and small things. Appreciate the big adventures, but also take time to notice and appreciate the small things in life. Take time to smell more than just the roses. Sometimes life will be made up of just a series of small things to notice and appreciate. At times, if you can make it happen, you can have larger, more expansive experiences.
Avoid procrastination.
Believe in yourself, even if no one else does. Do that one thing you want to do even if you think that you cannot do it. If you doubt yourself, that is okay, sit with your doubt for awhile, then put it out of your mind and get to work planning and then doing. Or, don't plan - be spontaneous - depending on the circumstances: hiking into the back country unprepared and on the spur of the moment may not be advisable, but deciding that tomorrow you're going to climb that peak - the one you've been dreaming about conquering for years - and throwing all the essential gear together just the night before should work just fine.
If you have others in your life who believe in you that is definitely a bonus. But, if you don't, you are enough. Believe in yourself. That is one person who believes in you. That is all it takes to get started. Put yourself out there and then you may soon find that many others jump on board. You just need to draw on that internal courage to begin. Small steps may lead to bigger steps, but small steps can still get you to where you want to be, even if it does take longer. At least you are still doing it.
D.
About Me
- Deborah K. Hanula
- Deborah K. Hanula has a year of Journalism training from Humber College, a Political Science degree from the University of Waterloo, and a Law degree from the University of British Columbia. In addition, she has Diplomas in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Child Psychology, and Psychotherapy and Counselling as well as a Family Life Educator and Coach Certificate and Certificates in Reflexology, Assertiveness Training, and Mindfulness Meditation. She is the author of five cookbooks, primarily concerned with gluten-free and dairy-free diets, although one pertains to chocolate. As an adult, in the past she worked primarily as a lawyer, but also as a university and college lecturer, a tutor, editor, writer, counsellor, researcher and piano teacher. She enjoys a multi-faceted approach when it comes to life, work and study, in order to keep things fresh and interesting. Check out her new book: A Murder of Crows & Other Poems (2023).
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