Get Busy Livin’

I’d rather fill a few short years with as many beautiful moments as I can, than live forever empty.

William C Hannan

When my friend Ashlee sent me a meme of the above quote and my reaction was one of super-duper excitement! Like air punching in celebration for no real reason—except that I totally agreed with this quote. The timing was perfect for this kind of thinking. After storing the meme for this blog post I officially started my day listening to The Nights by Avicii

He said, “One day, you’ll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember”
My father told me when I was just a child
“These are the nights that never die”
My father told me

“When thunderclouds start pouring down
Light a fire they can’t put out
Carve your name into those shining stars”
He said, “Go venture far beyond the shores
Don’t forsake this life of yours
I’ll guide you home no matter where you are”

This may not be everyone’s genre and the lesson may not be everyone’s lesson, but it certainly has been and is mine. I have been leaning more and more into this idea of a life well lived, squeezing the juice out of as many days as possible, not letting the rain or even the snow stop me from enjoying all the minutes, because one day I’ll leave this world behind and all the days that pass, I hope, have been lived in a really full way. Full of love and adventure. Full of curiosity and exploration. Full of problem solving and solutions. Full of words and chats and hugs and laughs. Full of acceptance and patience—when acceptance takes a little too long.

The irony is that if we live a good life and are happy with it (in the individual way that each of us define happiness) we tend to live longer. Feels like the quote is being negated. Live a great life…even if it’s short. But if it’s great, it could be long because generally, happy people live longer.

The study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who had higher levels of optimism had a longer life span. They also had a greater chance of living past age 85. Good news, right? I think so.

There have been so many times when I went out half heartedly with a friend (D—you know who you are) on a cloudy day and have been met with magic, or a tail gate supper with my S.O., again on a miserable day that was equally met with unforgettable moments. I don’t over analyze the moments thinking it would be better this way or that. I just go with it because I want to really get as much as I can out of every day.

When there is an opportunity to go have a mini adventure I take it. Maybe you should too. If nothing else you may be gifted a huge pink cloud hovering over a prairie field with a rainbow sticking out of it, like a freaking colorful handle. Candy floss.