Sometimes we manage to take things for granted -- actually, society manages to take everything for granted. The only real day that everyone is even somewhat thankful for what they have is Thanksgiving, other than that, it’s pretty much a free for all. We have become a society that has forgotten the true value of life and how special it really is. It’s too often that we take things, life included, for granted each and everyday.
If you don't count your blessings every singly day and aren't thankful for them before your day is done, then you are part of the problem. Life is fragile; it’s stable -- there one second -- and then flashes right before your eyes the next. Tragedies can occur at any time – take a look at what happened in Boston just a few days ago -- it makes me realize, and I hope it makes you realize too, how fragile life really is.
Those people did no harm, they did no wrong, they were there enjoying a time-honored tradition of the city of Boston, that has been around since 1897. They were innocent people, working people -- Americans just like you and I. Their lives changed within seconds without any forewarning or reason. They happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, which is something we can’t control. That’s how fragile life really is. Anything could happen, at any given moment.
Life is one of the most beautiful things that we as humans know and experience. We are all blessed, and if we take it upon ourselves to intuit and perceive it in a positive way – life could be infinitely better. How many times have you gotten mad at someone? Or bugged out because your internet wasn't working? Or even let a bad day bring you down?
When you look at the bigger picture -- those things really don't matter. We have forgotten how fragile life really is. We let senseless, nonsensical things preoccupy our day and are constantly worried about the wrong things rather than just simply enjoying life. We get mad, we get sad, we get depressed and we fight with other people and let them bring us down. We let things that shouldn't have any effect on our mood or mind, make indelible marks on it.
We’re far too engrossed in our own complaints. All you hear from people today is complaining, whining and dissatisfaction: how much they hate their jobs, lives, days, where they live or even who they are dating. Society has become too focused on the negative as a whole, no one ever talks about anything good anymore -- just the bad that goes on in this world.
Turn on the news and all you hear is the bad, talk to your friend and all they want to talk about is their problems. And those who are actually happy with their lives and live above the negativity of society are the envy of everyone. We’ve clung to this negativity as a society as a means of comfort. People have become scared to be happy.
Sure you hear the term 'YOLO' a lot -- and it is tossed around more than a sorority girl at a mixer, but people have come to mistake its meaning. It doesn’t mean throw all caution to the wind and try to do everything on your bucket list in one night.
It doesn't mean you need to try molly because it’s what all the cool kids are doing -- it means appreciate everyday that you are given and enjoy it, rather than let is pass you by while you are worried about all the little things that might be bothering you at the moment.
The grand embodiment of life isn’t real. Our lives are comprised of different variables and things we worry about because society has made us worry about them. Life itself is a lot simpler than we make it out to be. It is a collection of experiences and the people around you.
Those are the only two real components of life. Everything else is just an add-on, like school or money or even working. At the end of the day, when you strip everything away and you go back to the caveman days, all you have are natural experiences, moments and people to enjoy them with.
Each time something senseless like the Boston Bombings happen, it makes me realize that we are not invincible; we are not on this planet forever and our lives can end when we least expect it. Life is fragile. You were given it in order to enjoy it -- and live it to the utmost, so that at the end of your day, you can be happy for simply having the gift of life.
Sure it may be a scary thought, but dying is a part of life – and we’re all going to die one day. It sucks to take that in and think about what you are going to be leaving behind, but everyone’s time eventually comes to an end. Our time is limited and goes by faster than you expect.
What I ask of you today is not to walk away with some sort of moral of the story, but rather to be grateful for your life and live it in the order that you want it to be lived in. Take yourself away from the artificial aspects of life and the things that won't matter in the long run and appreciate what you have because at any moment it could be taken from you.
Preston Waters | Elite.
