“Everyone knows they’re going to die…but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.” This quote from a book called “Tuesday’s with Morrie” by my favorite author, Mitch Albom, reveals a sad truth about many members of our society.
If you were told an atomic bomb was going to go off and you had ten minutes to live, what would you do? I was asked this question on a THON retreat and my immediate thoughts were of all of my dreams that I have yet to accomplish, all of the sights that I have left unseen, and all of the people I still have to meet. I came to the realization that I had been failing to live out something I believe is absolutely necessary- seizing the day.
I believe in carpe diem, living each day like it could be my last. I believe that far too many people reach the end of their lives and feel that their time has come before they felt closure from this beautiful universe. In order to truly seize the day and live a life without regrets, I believe in following my dreams, telling people how I feel, and finding a silver lining even in the darkest of times.
Ask a group of kindergarteners what they want to be when they grow up and they name careers such as astronauts and pro-athletes. A select few of those children grab onto their dreams, while most others lose sight. The people that don’t listen when the universe says “no” are the ones who truly make it big in this world.
Ever since I can remember, when asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, I said a singer. In high school, I started a band called Jaded Grace and after hours of practice, won a “Battle of the Bands” competition. I convinced myself to stop being afraid and start seizing my dreams. An article from “The Art of Manliness” lists Walt Disney as one of the greatest self made men in American History. Despite being financially unstable and abused by his father throughout adolescence, Disney became a well-respected household name. Disney famously said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”. If Disney had let the fear of failure keep him from seizing the day, we would live in a world without “the happiest place on Earth.”
Throughout our lives, we tend to wait for the perfect time to tell others how we’re feeling and assume that we are guaranteed that future time. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. In August of 2016, I left for school on bad terms with my father. I received a phone call on an October morning informing me that during the night, he suffered a severe heart and nearly did not make it. At that exact moment, I decided that I would seize each precious moment with loved ones that I am blessed to receive and never leave someone on a bad note again.
Tough times are unavoidable in this life. What is in our control, however, is making the choice to not forget the great things that still exist during these times. In January, I had been in Florence, Italy for a week when I received an urgent phone call. My doctor informed me that something they thought was nothing was actually a very rare form of cancer called Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans that would require me to fly home. Upon hearing this information, I could have decided to be depressed and waste the time that I did get to spend in this beautiful, historic land sulking. Instead, I found the silver linings in my daily life. I chose to seize every second that I could exploring Florence and chose to believe that I would be okay, which thankfully, I was.
Famous author of the self-help book, “The Power of Now- A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment”, Eckhart Tolle wrote, “It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life to start living”. I refuse to be one of those people. If I am only living for the weekends, I will look back to realize that I have wished away five sevenths of my life. I don’t know when it is going to be too late to start my lengthy bucket list of dreams. I must stop waiting until someday, because someday, there won’t be anymore somedays. In Mitch Albom’s book, “The Time Keeper”, he states “There is a reason God limits our days… to make each one precious”. I believe in making today precious, and that is how I seize the day.
Works Cited
“The Power of Now Quotes by Eckhart Tolle.” Good Reads. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2018.
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/840520-the-power-of-now
“Tuesdays with Morrie Quotes by Mitch Albom.” Good Reads. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2018.
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1995335-tuesdays-with-morrie
“Maya Angelou.” Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2018.
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/5934-i-ve-learned-that-people-will-forget-what-you-said-people
McKay, Brett, and Kate McKay. “25 Greatest Self-Made Men in History.” The Art of Manliness. N.p., 05 Oct. 2015. Web. 25 Aug. 2018.
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/12/28/self-made-men/
“Rick Pitino.” Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2018.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/149875.Rick_Pitino
“12 Walt Disney Quotes That Will Inspire You.” Bright Drops. N.p., 21 May 2016. Web. 28 Aug. 2018.
http://brightdrops.com/inspiring-walt-disney-quotes