Life: It’s Just a String of These

Legs pumping up the slippery earth’s surface I pause to peer over the sheer cliff leading to, what would certainly be, a turquoise tomb. Turning around, I’m greeted by an undulating vertical verdance — Bali Hai is calling.

Hands on my hips, breath smoothing now, I say to my hiking companion, “You know, I had a thought.”

“What’s that?” she asks, chuckling because I’m always having thoughts that find themselves into sentences.

“I was thinking that life, well, it’s just a series of moments. And that’s it. There’s not much more to it!”

My older, wiser, and often less questioning companion says, “Yea, that pretty much sums it up.”

Tossing my hands skyward I say, “Well if it’s really that simple, and it’s really that easy, I’m just going to focus on having the best moments I can.”

“Good plan,” she smiles.

As we resumed our steady climb, clay-slick earth carefully tread underfoot, the smells of growing things in all phases of completion swirl around my head, and I thought, THIS, is a damn fine moment.

Life, when viewed as a string of moments, releases us from the grip of a self-constructed vice.

There is no destiny that has to be fulfilled, no purpose that has to be served. There is nothing you are required to do.

In fact, I believe that destinies and purposes can only be fulfilled when we are fully present, without pressure, and wildly opening to the moment that comes.

Shrugging off the past and letting fade the looming future changes everything.

How you speak to yourself.

How you speak to others.

How you carry your gorgeous weight through the world.

Living from the perspective that live is a series of moments lightens the load and clarifies your voice.

It opens your heart and paves the way for synchronicities beyond your wildest imaginings.

Not to mention, it is so much more fun.

And fun, frivolous as our society has deemed it, is the foundation of a life well lived. It is a through-line of joy. It is the oxygen of possibility.

Fun, joy, adventure, pleasure, let those be your governing forces — not fear, obligation or guilt.

We create our own gravitational pull, and you, my darlings, get to decide what experiences will orbit you.

This article originally appeared on ashleywelton.com.