EMPTY

I never stop thinking and evaluating my dreams and aspirations.  I was asked once regarding my working out routine, which among other things, consist of doing an hour and a half of cardio each day, why do I work out so much and my response is, why do you shower every day?  To me staying fit is a life style.  It is a  commitment to maintain, as far as we know, the only body the universe has given us to navigate life.  The same goes with thinking about always doing better in life.  Regardless of your age, young, middle age or senior, you are here to continue to grow, learn and create.  As I see it, if you stop growing you are done living.  If you stop learning or think you know it all, you are done living.  If you stop creating, you are done living.  The reason is that there would be nothing else for you to do on this earth.  You would be a waste of space on the planet.  That is why it is common to hear stories about when individuals retire, they pass on soon thereafter.  But the real disturbing element of  being ambitionless is that if you really think about it, many individuals are empty vessels.  Who came up with the idea that we are supposed to go to school, get a job with a pension that we are to one day, after many years doing this job that we may hate, earn a vested interest to be given the privilege to trade our precious time for a pension that in many cases is not enough for the basic necessities, in the interim get married, raise a family, pay your taxes and die.  I certainly did not sign up for that.  But then, I was never one to follow the rules.  I was always the one to make my own rules, at least as it pertains to my life.  
 It reminds me of a song by Jackson Browne titled, "Running On Empty."  Part of the lyrics are as follows, "Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels, looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields.  65 I was 17 and running up 101, I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on.  Running on empty, running blind, running into the sun, but I'm running behind.  Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive, trying not to confuse it, with what you do to survive.  69 I was 21and I called the road my own, I don't know when the road turned into the road I'm on..."  Relatively speaking, the 70 to100 years we have on this planet is very short compared to the universe.  But, most individuals don't really pay much attention to their limited time.  I happen to believe that we really never die because the essence of our true self is spiritual in nature so we live on in infinity but, what I am referring to is our physical presence on earth.  I can almost bet you that most individuals when they're younger have said to themselves, When I'm 35 I will be..., you fill in the blank.  Then when they reach 35 and are behind on their dreams say, when I'm 45 I will ..., you fill in the blank.  And so forth and so on.  You get my point.  Many are living on empty.  Empty is great, if you are referring to emptying out your mind before you go to sleep at night of all the negative garbage put in during the day.  Aside from the aforementioned, Living on empty or as Jackson Brown would say, running on empty is, I believe, a wasted existence.  However, it it never to late to change your life.  It is pretty easy to do.  By changing the way you think you can change your life dramatically.  Live your your life to the fullest.  Set goals and take steps to accomplish them.  I promise you that if you were to change your ways to a more productive and positive lifestyle that you will make it to the top.  How can I make such a bold prediction?  Because, I have done it.  So you too can do it.  I leave you with a quote on point by Mandy Hale.  "Hope for love, pray for love, wish for love, dream for love...but don't put your life on hold waiting for love."  
     Just a thought.
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