Get a Life

    I have just spent the last weekend doing something that in these days and times is difficult to do – I did nothing. I woke up without an alarm, took a cup of coffee outside, sat in the sun and read some fiction. I watched the daffodils bloom and observed the first robins of spring. I ate when I got hungry, took a nap, read some more, watched the moon rise, and went to bed. Did I waste the day? No. Maybe middle age is catching up with me. You know middle age – it is when it takes longer to rest than it did to get tired. Or maybe I am taking seriously what someone once told me sarcastically, “Get a life.” I am learning that I could never be the best I can be at my profession if my profession is all I am.
    It can be so easy to waste our lives. So many of us rush around for that bigger paycheck, that bigger house, that better job. Day in, day out in the constant pursuit of approval, or to prove something, that would not mean a whole lot the afternoon a lump was found in your wife’s breast, or a “shadow” was seen on your husband’s chest x-ray. Unfortunately, I have seen on countless times people deciding to live, and not just exist, after they have been faced with a potentially life threatening illness. For many of us, it takes a real possibility of losing something to truly appreciate its value.
    So what I would like to tell you today is to get a life, and realize that we are only guaranteed one day at a time. Do not let the day go without looking out and looking up. Look at the redbuds beginning their purple-pink blooms. Feel the sun on your face, or look at the clouds pass over the moon on a cold night. Be generous with yourself – we all aspire to do well, but we should also do good.  Hug your children, call your parents, write a note, and remember, love is not a leisurely pastime, true love is work. Most of all, be generous to yourself. Take time to care for your physical and spiritual health. We eat right, watch our weight, exercise enough, quit smoking, and still none of that guarantees we will not get cancer or have a heart attack. When we receive bad news, when we are broke, or lonely, a very healthy body is of little comfort. Take the time to nurture your soul and develop your faith.
    A powerful shah lost his favorite wife to death. He mourned her and longed to build a fitting tribute to her. He placed her body in a box and placed it in the middle of a large field and began constructing a building around her. As the weeks turned to months, his grief gradually changed to passion for completing the project. One day, he was walking through the building with his contractors and stumbled over a box. He promptly ordered the workmen to remove it, not realizing he just removed his wife’s body from the very building meant to honor her. He completed the project, which is now known as the Taj Mahal.
    My point is life is a gift to us. Life should be considered a terminal illness so that we will live it with our priorities right, with joy, with passion, and with thanksgiving. Look for ways you can help others get a life. Do not throw away life’s gift in the passionate pursuit of existing. Take the time to get a life, a full life, balanced by your profession, your connection to others, and your connection to God.