OBITUARY
An obituary is a notice of a death. It is usually a writing, typically including a brief biography of the deceased. So I started thinking about what will my obituary say about me. To me, although life is an adventure, there should be an underlying agreement about how to live your life. Wouldn't it be nice to have a test prior to birth on whether you want to be in this game called life. I am a huge people watcher and the way I see it is that the majority of individuals have their obituaries written on their faces. And they can all be summed up easily, "Has departed with a full tank." You see, most individuals while they are living, run around just doing time. Inmates in the local jail are not the only ones doing time. I hate to say it but, most individuals are just doing their time if you really think about it. Most individuals seem to be living without any purpose. They are walking around just doing their "time."
They get up every morning doing their time until they go to bed at night. They go to a job, they are miserable in but are doing their time until pay day and repeat this abysmal habit in many cases for half their lives. One irony that will always baffle me is that most people hate their jobs but are worried that they will get fired. The way I see it, getting fired may be the best thing that will ever happen to them to trigger their creative talent and change their lives for the better. I am not a psychologist but it seems like common sense to me. Some individuals are doing time until their children are grown and out of the house. Some individuals are doing time on the couch until ironically the time is right. I can go on and on but you get the picture. The way I look at the privilege of being alive is pretty simple. Either you are moving forward or backwards. There is no standing still. The earth doesn't stand still so we can not stand still. If you think you are standing still in reality you are going backwards. So the only way to live your life is to continue every single day to go forward. Most individuals die with their talents in them. In other words, they die with a full tank. The world will never find out how great they could have been. Just take a look around and you can see what I mean. Next time you go to your grocery store or a McDonald's or a Walmart, look and see who is bagging your groceries or taking your order at the counter. I will bet you its an elderly person. Do you really think that was their life plan? And, even at their advanced age it doesn't have to be that way but they are just buying time until the inevitable.
In life, you are either on the way or in the way. You are either on the way to your goals and dreams or you are in the way and in essence working on someone else's dream. As I see it, we are so busy with external distractions that we neglect the self. Most individuals put themselves last thinking it is the honorable thing to do. To take care of your family or employer etc... But, that is exactly what society in general wants us to feel. to always prioritize corporations over the self because that is what makes them profitable. Then after 30 or 40 years of service they tell you they are downsizing and they need to let you go so that they can hire the next generation of individuals who are just buying time. To me this is so clear. If your are reading this article it's because you are in a place where you understand that there is something more to life and that you have something special to give. I encourage you to work on yourself. Read, meditate, exercise and it will clear your mind and open up opportunities and ideas that will change your life for the better. Be grateful for everything that you have or have accomplished up until now but, never be satisfied. As a practicing attorney, I know that most civil cases are settled out of court because litigants don't think that they can get what they want. However, my advise to the reader is not to settle in life. Live your life to the fullest. So when you are ready to depart your obituary will state clearly and unequivocally, He or she died with an "Empty tank." Don't take it with you. You are here now to let it lose! I leave you with a quote on point by Norman Cousins, "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." Just a thought.
They get up every morning doing their time until they go to bed at night. They go to a job, they are miserable in but are doing their time until pay day and repeat this abysmal habit in many cases for half their lives. One irony that will always baffle me is that most people hate their jobs but are worried that they will get fired. The way I see it, getting fired may be the best thing that will ever happen to them to trigger their creative talent and change their lives for the better. I am not a psychologist but it seems like common sense to me. Some individuals are doing time until their children are grown and out of the house. Some individuals are doing time on the couch until ironically the time is right. I can go on and on but you get the picture. The way I look at the privilege of being alive is pretty simple. Either you are moving forward or backwards. There is no standing still. The earth doesn't stand still so we can not stand still. If you think you are standing still in reality you are going backwards. So the only way to live your life is to continue every single day to go forward. Most individuals die with their talents in them. In other words, they die with a full tank. The world will never find out how great they could have been. Just take a look around and you can see what I mean. Next time you go to your grocery store or a McDonald's or a Walmart, look and see who is bagging your groceries or taking your order at the counter. I will bet you its an elderly person. Do you really think that was their life plan? And, even at their advanced age it doesn't have to be that way but they are just buying time until the inevitable.
In life, you are either on the way or in the way. You are either on the way to your goals and dreams or you are in the way and in essence working on someone else's dream. As I see it, we are so busy with external distractions that we neglect the self. Most individuals put themselves last thinking it is the honorable thing to do. To take care of your family or employer etc... But, that is exactly what society in general wants us to feel. to always prioritize corporations over the self because that is what makes them profitable. Then after 30 or 40 years of service they tell you they are downsizing and they need to let you go so that they can hire the next generation of individuals who are just buying time. To me this is so clear. If your are reading this article it's because you are in a place where you understand that there is something more to life and that you have something special to give. I encourage you to work on yourself. Read, meditate, exercise and it will clear your mind and open up opportunities and ideas that will change your life for the better. Be grateful for everything that you have or have accomplished up until now but, never be satisfied. As a practicing attorney, I know that most civil cases are settled out of court because litigants don't think that they can get what they want. However, my advise to the reader is not to settle in life. Live your life to the fullest. So when you are ready to depart your obituary will state clearly and unequivocally, He or she died with an "Empty tank." Don't take it with you. You are here now to let it lose! I leave you with a quote on point by Norman Cousins, "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." Just a thought.