Back in 2005, around the time when I had my heart attack, I learned that there are different kinds of death, and there are different kinds of living. This time I want to talk about a matter of life and death.
I’ve learned that we often think of things in terms of “either this or that.” I catch myself thinking this way even now. So, we think, “if I’m not dead, then I’m alive,” “If I’m not taking risks, then I’m safe,” and, “If I’m not sad, then I’m happy.”
Truthfully, though:
- The opposite of death isn’t life to the fullest.
- The opposite of divorce isn’t a cherishing marriage.
- The opposite of sadness isn’t happiness.
- The opposite of being fired isn’t fulfilling employment.
We may not be dead, but that doesn’t mean we experience vibrant life.
Many of us settle for mediocre. All to often we approach everything in life with a “good enough” attitude. We do just enough work to not get fired. We put in just enough into our marriage so we don’t get divorced. We give just enough to our friends so they don’t leave.
In my experience, when we put in a half hearted effort into our work, our marriage, our jobs, and our life, it’s like a living death. There are no exuberant victories to celebrate. We just exist and not much more.
We go to a job we hate. We tell people that we’re hating life when our shift just started, and life is good when our shift is just about to end. We go home, consume some food and some TV programs. Then we wake up the next day to do it all over again.
But, this can’t be all there is to life. There’s got to be something more. Just existing? That’s not good enough!
I want to live! And I think you do too.
We help people discover and live their calling because we believe that when people live their calling, they live a more fulfilling adventure.
Do you feel like you’re living an adventure? Tell us about it.
