The Winner's Circle

I woke up this morning, and I wanted to write. Sometimes I like to write about yoga, sometimes I like to write about other stuff. This happened to be a morning when other stuff was on my mind. There is no rhyme or reason for the format, here is what came out through my keyboard:

"From an early age, we anticipate a long life ahead of us.

One so long that we end up doing boring things at the end.

Like playing backgammon.

As if we had already done every crazy thing we had ever dreamed of doing.

And all that is left is quietness.

Or at least that is what is assumed.

What really happens is something else.

Some of us are dealt a hand with illness, trauma, misfortune, or instant chaos.

Some of us are not.

Life sometimes feels like a botched lottery system.

Babies, Children, Teenagers, Twenty-, Thirty-, and Forty-somethings are supposed to be exempt.

They’re not even close to being bored yet.

How can their time for new discoveries, new friends, and new foods be up?

I have always wondered if there is another reason for each life on earth.

Our big-picture stories mislead our dreams and aspirations.

Our daily endeavors become ticker marks rather than masterpieces

Some days we forget to notice the sunshine warming our faces.

We take it for granted then complain when it doesn’t show up.

Theories of what our lives should begin by being woven into our bedtime stories.

Who would you become if the standard 100 year expiration was cut short

To 50 years? 25 years? 10 years? 1 year?

How much more would you have lived in each of those years?

What would you do with your time, if one minute instantly became 30-seconds?

12 hours available to us each day. Assume that 4 of which are still needed for sleep.

That leaves 8 short hours awake allotted for family, friends, health, fun, and work.

Would you have the courage to let go of the thoughts, words, and actions

You spend on daydreams, ideas and expectations for several years from now?

Would you rush home immediately to spend more time with family and friends?

Now, what if you were told that your expiration date could be extended

One more hour for every healthy choice you made?

Eating a vegetable, going for a run, sleeping enough, drinking water

Would this be enough to encourage you to take time away from work or fun

To be able to expand the time available for being with family and friends?

Would you be able to find a way to make things work, financially,

Knowing in advance that it is unlikely that you will live long enough to retire.

What would your daily routine consist of?

How many hours would you commit to each priority?

Would it be possible for you to reassess the importance of each?

This is a hypothetical suggestion, of course.

You might wonder why I would think to write and suggest something so absurd.

The truth is: most of us will wake up and no longer have the 24-hour luxury of 100-years.

Some of us have already witness loved ones whose lives have been much shorter than that.

The truth is: no one actually knows how many years or hours we will each have.

There is no scientific formula to calculate our combined genetics, diseases, and fate.

We like to believe we are in control of our lives, with time to correct our mistakes or regrets.

Do we tell ourselves we will live until 100 because it comforts our fear of an unfinished life?

“100 years seems pretty far away… I’ve got enough time” is the subconscious belief of many

When someone’s life is cut short, before 100, we have an instant feeling of sorrow

They didn’t get to live the rest of their life. They had so many more years left for so many things.

“I’m sorry for your loss” is a common sympathy expressed to grieving family and friends.

Regardless of how much optimism and rose-color glasses we wear when thinking about this stuff

At the end of the day, we still hold onto the goal of 100 years as if it is the winner’s circle of life.

Though I am barely over ¼ of the way there… I extend a few invitations to you:

Rather than assuming we “get” 100 years to live, why don’t we celebrate every year we are given?

We already have convenient celebrations in our lives for this, they’re called BIRTHDAYS!

Rather than offering emphasizing that they “lost” a loved one, with sad music and tears,

Why don’t we hold one last celebration (like one last birthday party) for the love they shared?

Rather than feeling cheated or unlucky when told our shortened life expectancy by a doctor,

Why not embrace the love that we have built up around us up until that very moment.

Perhaps our daily lives are actually meant to be spent creating a giant cushion of support and love

Maybe our goal isn’t to live until 100 by any means possible

But instead, to gather enough amazing stories, and wonderful people in our lives along the way

So that if we do live until we are 100,

We have enough to keep our hearts full of joy and peace

While we sit quietly playing backgammon.

And if by chance we do not live until we are 100,

May we each choose to spend our time here sharing our love with others

So that if they are given 100 long years on this earth

Without us and others who will pass before them

Let us leave them with enough happy memories, laughter, and adventurous stories

For them to relive in their hearts, while quietly playing backgammon."

Written by: Laura Searles  

Photo by CJ Fuchs Photography