Living to the Fullest

Micah said:

It’s easy to answer “I would live life to fullest,” but harder to define what “fullest” means.

Living life to the fullest is such a wiggly concept. It brings to mind a day filled with endless ice cream, pizza, wine, nature, sex, grand gestures, wild gambles, choice words, and explosions. Then, before any of that in-the-moment gluttonous euphoria could wear off, you’re gone.

The perfect exit.

The core principle behind them all is that their indulgence implies the removal of the mental and social structures that generally hold us back. From living to the fullest. Because #consequences.

If life is considered as already lost, then #consequences wield no power. There’s nothing left to lose. You can finally just be.

The mental trick of having 1 day left to live is pretty easy to simulate in our heads. It’s easy to imagine bearing #consequences for a few hours, or half a day, because it’s your last day! Who cares!

But a minute or two into this mental simulation may reveal that perhaps this first instinctual gluttonous end might not really be as rewarding as it seems. Sure, we restrain ourselves, but the opposite of restraint isn’t always enjoyment. Is it ever?

As Micah alludes to, maybe living to the fullest is more about releasing ourselves from our programmed desire to invest in the future.

Forget about acquiring Fuck You money, just move to the beach now. Forget about impacting the world, just start enjoying it as it is. Forget about saving for retirement, acquiring new skills, or tolerating unbearable relationships that might prove useful some day, just…

Just what? Do what? Become what?

What is all the saving, preparing, investing, and tolerating ultimately aimed to enable?

Quality time with our interests, loved ones, and our self.

My cross country coach used to yell at us when we complained about practice, “Pain is in the mind!”

Living to the fullest is also in the mind.

Now, more importantly, what should I have for dinner?

— written on BART