Do You Want to Be Alive Before You Die?

Take a close look at the above photo.

You’ll notice people huddled together in the back of the boat, balancing as best they can in choppy waters. They’re about to disembark onto the Isle of Staffa, located in the Inner Hebrides of Argyll and Bute, Scotland.

The Isle of Staffa contains six-sided columns of towering rock formed from basalt. A dramatic rocky mouth, known as Fingal’s Cave, swallows sea water and lures intrepid hikers.

In spring and early summer, the jagged cliffs and grass-lined slopes serve as nesting sites for seabirds including guillemots, razorbills, and puffins. While people no longer live there, local tour guides and their sturdy boats offer regular field trips to the Isle of Staffa.

Navigating the rocky shore (as wind and sea water pelt your face), climbing the steep stairs to the verdant ridges high above, and gazing out at the immense power and grandeur of the wild ocean, awaken all your senses.

You can’t help but feel alive.

I could offer many explanations for why my wife and I were there, exploring the island and greater Scotland. We both enjoy travel, and the chance to experience foreign lands, peoples, and customs. We needed a vacation, after a year of monastic living thanks to a worldwide pandemic.

But if you want the truth, there’s just one explanation. One simple thing that brought us to the amazing people, places, and wonders of Scotland. What was it?

A book.

Paradise will be a kind of library

My wife and I are both bibliophiles.

We love books. We love the way books feel, smell, and inspire us. We have a large library at home, and we think any date night should include a bookstore visit.

Our library contains fiction and non-fiction, as well as the Harvard Classics, out-of-print gems found in obscure independent bookshops, and much more.

One particular corner of our library houses the historical/fantasy author Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series, which my wife devoured. The books are set in Scotland and spawned a popular television series. All of this led to curiosity about Scotland, and my wife and several other Outlander fans took a trip to Scotland a few years back.

My wife fell in love with Scotland and convinced me that I should accompany her on a return trip, which we did last year. I fell in love with Scotland, too.

Had my wife never read that first Outlander book and nurtured a curiosity about Scotland, we may never have ventured there. We may never have explored the castles, lochs, towns, food, customs, and wonderful people. We might have missed out on the experience and lifelong memories made.

This is the power of books. This is the gift of literature.

Reading is the magical portal that takes us to new worlds, people, and experiences beyond our own lives. Books activate our imaginations in ways that Hollywood and the best CGI can’t compete with.

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. ― Jorge Luis Borges

Good books inspire, educate, entertain, and help us think. They allow us to discover, escape, and grow. Good books keep us company, introduce us to new friends, and give us something to look forward to.

They can even make us feel more alive.

All the light we cannot see

I’ve been reading Anthony Doerr’s enthralling, wonderfully written novel “All the Light We Cannot See.”

It’s about a young blind girl, an orphaned Nazi boy, war-torn France in World War II, and so much more. Love, kindness, fear, cruelty, and hope.

I’ve given up on most television, with its insipid reality shows, blaring commercials, and often shallow content. Yes, there are a few gems here and there.

But television, just like social media, seldom makes me feel alive.

Instead, I like to turn on quiet classical music at night, settle into my reading chair, and get lost in a novel like “All the Light We Cannot See.” The richness of the story, and the plight of the characters, eclipses just about anything television offers.

And the wisdom!

There are two lines spoken by characters in “All the Light We Cannot See” that I had to write down. They’re the kind of lines that invite reflection and make you think.

The first line is this:

Don’t you want to be alive before you die?

This exquisite line reminds us that life is meant to be lived, not merely survived. Who wants to reach the end of their journey and realize that they squandered their life?

That they failed to truly live.

What if we truly lived?

The second line that inspired me from “All the Light We Cannot See” is this:

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.

How many people go through life with their eyes closed? How many people lie to others, and themselves, and never find the courage to see and experience life as it truly is? The good, bad, and everything in between.

There is so much to see and learn from the world, but we have to open our eyes. And that means open our minds, too. Reach past our limited beliefs and biases. Open our hearts, and develop empathy and curiosity for people and things beyond ourselves.

Life is short.

What a pity for those who never open their eyes. Who prefer to squint or look away instead of seeing and experiencing everything.

Forever is a long time.

Once our eyes shut for good, we’ve lost the gift of seeing and experiencing everything we can.

Do we really want to spend our days transfixed by things like social media nonsense, pornography, or fake lives on television reality programs? What if we opened our eyes more to family, friends, creative passions, books, music, and travel?

What if we truly lived?

Living a life worth remembering

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always live up to the ideal.

I’ve closed my eyes at times. I’ve gotten lost in silly YouTube videos and NCIS reruns. I guess we all enjoy a bit of mindless escapism.

But then I remember that haunting line:

Do you want to be alive before you die?

So I’ve been reading more and spending less time online.

The more I read good literature, the more I’m inspired to live differently. I’m motivated to write deeper stories and essays, not listicles and unmemorable clickbait essays in search of applause or likes.

Good literature reminds me to get out and shoot more of my street photography, where real life is happening. And I’m trying to listen to others more, instead of steering conversations back to my interests.

The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering. — Bruce Lee

The more time I spend with good books, the more I’m able to experience the lives of others. People real and imagined, all with their own trials, tribulations, hopes, sorrows, and dreams.

Best of all, when I spend time reading good literature, I feel alive. Also, it inspires me to truly live. To love, laugh, embrace my passions, work hard, travel, and truly open my eyes.

Before they close forever.

Before you go

I’m John P. Weiss. I read good books, and write elegant stories and essays about life. If you enjoyed this essay, sign up for my free Saturday Letters here.

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This post was previously published on Medium.com.

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Photo credit: John P. Weiss