Life is short. Everyone has regrets. But more tragic than dying young, is dying with your song unsung.
—
During your next breath, you can make a decision that will change your life. In truth, it’s the only time you can. The future is unwritten and uncertain; the past is engraved into stone.
And if you don’t change a path that’s unfulfilling, you may have plenty of time to reflect on the ‘what ifs’.
Here are five reasons you should seize your chance to uphold your values today, and make a stand for the things that matter to you.
Why? Because . . .
♦◊♦
1. Tomorrow, world affairs might change your life.
He was part of the force that landed at Gallipoli in 1915.
|
At the beginning of World War I, a physicist named Henry Moseley felt he should help, and volunteered for service. He wasn’t an average young man. He had a degree from Oxford, and had already made ground-breaking discoveries in chemistry.
Sir Ernest Rutherford later commented that Moseley’s rush into research at a young age “allowed him to complete during two years at the outset of his career a set of researches that would surely have brought him a Nobel prize”.
Moseley served in Britain’s Royal Engineers, in communications. He was part of the force that landed at Gallipoli in 1915. He didn’t return.
Author Issac Asimov wrote of Moseley: “In view of what he might still have accomplished … his death might well have been the most costly single death of the War to mankind generally.”
We’re fortunate Moseley didn’t spend his early youth devoted to partying. What are you spending your days doing?
Are you talking about the things that matter?
2. Tomorrow, you might sink into depression
Sometimes, fiction illustrates life in a way that grabs a generation.
Actor Robin Williams performed in many roles during a much-lauded career. In Dead Poets Society, he played a teacher who encourages his students to “Make your lives extraordinary.”
The expression ‘Carpe Diem’ (Seize the Day) became popular as a result.
Robin Williams personified this attitude. He began his career in stand-up comedy, a field he described as “. . .a brutal field, man.” But he persisted, and the world knows how successful he became, in both comedic and serious roles. But success did not save him from the perils of depression.
Robin Williams said that his father had told him never to be afraid of talking about subjects that mattered.
What matters to you? And are you talking about it today, while you have a chance?
3. Tomorrow, you might be accidentally shot
The son of world famous martial artist Bruce, Brandon Lee was exposed from birth to the concept of pursuing success head-on.
He certainly received opportunities that many don’t receive.
But it doesn’t matter how many silver spoons you get. You still have to walk the miles yourself. And expectations come with opportunities given.
Brandon chose to attack life. He learned that a choice to go on in times of difficulty was simply an opportunity to grow, “. . .if you face it head on and don’t choose to say, “Ah, screw that! I’m going to do something else!”
Despite having made his breakthrough, and won a major role, Brandon Lee’s career ended abruptly, just as James Dean’s had, nearly forty years earlier.
Lee died after being accidentally shot, aged 28, during filming on the set of The Crow. He’d followed his dream.
Are you taking steps to follow yours, while you have time?
4. Tomorrow, a boulder might come down on you
People who knew Scott Dinsmore describe him as a shining star, an authentic presence who grabbed handfuls of life and lived it out loud.
“He lived more in his short 33 years than most do in a lifetime,” his father said after his son’s life was ended by a falling boulder.
Scott gave TED talk, about the importance of chasing dreams and doing the work you love. He believed so passionately in this vision that he inspired a movement that spread worldwide. In 2015 he began a year-long trip around the world, to connect with followers and inspire them to live legendary lives.
If not, what will it take for you to realise that life is short?
|
One of his dreams was to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. He started that climb in the last week of his life, and a line from his final message on Facebook reflects something of his view of life: “Leaving Cappadocia in absolute awe, and realizing I never lost my childhood wonder for balloons (and caves)…”
And then he was dead.
Are you doing something you’re passionate about today? If not, what will it take for you to realise that life is short?
5. Tomorrow, you might fall down some stairs
The first African American actor – and the youngest – to win the role of Jean Valijean in Les Miserables, Kyle Jean-Baptiste inspired many.
On the night of his first performance in the part, he tweeted: Today I go on as my dream role. No words.
He played Jean Valijean for 6 weeks, but died before he could start his next role in The Color Purple, falling backwards off a fire escape platform four stories up, where he had been talking a with friend.
“He touched the world,” said Kyle’s father, “and he left the world so young. He was so hungry; he wanted to act so badly. It is devastating.”
His fellow cast members recall Kyle as an astonishingly talented actor with a full career ahead of him.
All of life is ahead of YOU.
What are you going to do with it?
—
This post is republished on Medium.
—
Photo credit: iStock