Come Alive

Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.

(Author: Jonathan Mead)

I'd love to say that I would definitely keep on living the way I am if I had one week to live, but the truth is I'm too far away from key people I'd want to visit before my last days. Obviously, the easy answer to this question is no, I'm not quite living the way I would if I knew I only had a week left to live. However, knowing that I only have a few weeks until my first session of camp has made me prioritize that in my life. (For those of you who don't know, I'm planning two summer camps for 9-12th graders in July.) This includes working later than expected and keeping on top of small tasks that could eventually build up.

I really like the core of this question, though. What have you done to make sure you are present in your everyday life? This is something I've been working on more and more; something that has actually led to the lack of posting on this blog. I've been saying "yes" to a lot of little get-togethers and opportunities to have actual face time with friends. 

For example, last night I got home around 7:00 pm and was chatting with my roommate and his friend. We watched a bit of the Twins game and then I went into my room to get some work done, surf the internet, etc. Once the game was over, though, they were yelling at me, asking "JANAE!!! Do you want to play football or Mario Cart?!" There was no "Okay, you can stay chilling in your room." It was a choice. Football or Mario Cart. I chose football so we went to a little park and played catch until the bugs were eating us alive. I discovered a new park in the neighborhood I've now been living in for 10 months, and got to hang out outside with a couple boys I truly enjoy being around.

Once we got back home, naturally we had to play some Mario Cart. Thankfully, they were patient with me and would describe the games and the controls I needed to use before we started (I did not grow up playing video games and therefore am horrible.) If you know anything about Mario Cart, you know that the fact that I ended up having the most coins in the end is pretty awesome. 

Moral of the story: living in the moment will bring you all kinds of joy that you never expected. So say yes!