
Love Life
“Most of us never stop to consider our blessings; rather, we spend the day only thinking about our problems. But since you have to be alive to have problems, be grateful for the opportunity to have them.” — Bernie Siegel ~ American writer and pediatric surgeon known for his best-selling book ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’
It is easy to get caught up in all of the negativity that we come across on a daily basis. It can appear at times that we are encased by the multitude of injustices that never seem to go away, that only seem to get worse. But we can’t forget how lucky we are to be alive. It is with every breath that we have an opportunity to be a part of the change necessary to turn it all around.
We can wallow in sadness or we can delight in the joy of sunshine and in the ecstasy of putting a smile on someone’s face. Life is so short and so frail, but that’s not what makes it bad, that’s what makes it amazing. While our bodies are fragile, our minds are indestructible. The good that we can create, even in the face of so much heartache, is the most beautiful part of life.
We need to use each moment that we have like it could be our last, as if today was our final opportunity to make an impact on the lives of those around us. Stop and think about how incredible it is to be alive right now, to exist when so many do not. We are able to watch others be born and die but we don’t know what it feels like to not be alive, this is all we’ve known. It is because of this that it is easy to take all that we have for granted.
Every day we wake up we are afforded one more chance to turn things around, to be a vehicle driven head-on by the possibility of positive change. When we are full of sorrow we need to use that pain as the fuel to light a fire underneath us. We can do anything we want in this world because we are alive.
The only limitations we have are those that we place upon ourselves. If you want to be a doctor and save lives you can. If you want to help change public policy then you can become a politician and use the platform that you have to bring people together toward a common cause. If you want to help people grow by providing them the tools to gain the knowledge necessary to be a positive member of society, then you can become a teacher. You can do anything you want because you are alive.
Nothing holds us back except when we focus on all that is bad, instead of relishing in all that is good. Today is the day when you can turn it all around. We are never ready for anything in life. We are never ready for that new job, that new school, or that new challenge we have yet to face. Even if at times it may feel overwhelming, it is in realizing that we have the ability to do anything that is the essence of living.
If life were easy what would we gain out of it, how would we be able to help those who follow in our footsteps? You will never be more alive than you are right now so be the difference you want to see. There is a lot to be negative about in our world but there is so much more for which to be joyful.
One day you will no longer exist; one day you will no longer have an opportunity to make an impact. Use that knowledge not to bring you down, but to lift you up, to excite you, because right now you are alive. You can do anything, and so many people, some you may never meet, are depending on you to do just that. Love life.
