Sunday, February 15, 2004

Is Life Worth Living?

The other day I received an email from someone I "met" (not in person but through letters) through my blog. The question was..."I think life is worth living. What do you say?" Now the question didn't end there. That would have been too easy. I could have answered intellectually however that went out the window because he added "I look forward to hear the flow of your answer from the bottom of your heart."

It was no longer hypothetical or third person. He was asking me. Given that, it was still a fairly easy question for me to answer. (And I'd love to hear your answers as well). And as easy as it was for me to send a response, it still took a great deal of thought as life is never to be taken lightly, nor are the choices we make in life.

My immediate thought was "Life is meant to be celebrated". Existing day to day is not living life. It's going through the motions numb to whatever is happening around us. I made a conscious choice years ago not to let that happen any more. That meant making major changes, including pruning my life of toxic relationships. It was like living a slow emotional death, so subtle that I hardly noticed.....until it was pointed out to me by a dear friend.

Even well meaning friends and family threw in their two cents, trying to make me see that "This is what life is. And you learn to live with it". I refused to. Life isn't settling. It's shooting for your dreams. Settling isn't living. That's coping. Life is too precious a gift to take for granted (as are the special people in our lives). Many struggle for that right. Once I was gifted with it, what would that say to those whose safety and basic right to live is threatened?

So it's celebrating each day in my life as well as the people in it. Home isn't a place. It's what you carry inside you. It's who you're with that matters. Living life is what your choices determine.....every single day.

Best,
Donna Karlin

No comments: