Life Is Not Always Short

I am going to die. I hope not today nor tomorrow nor anytime in the foreseeable future, but it is fact that I’m going to die. It gets worse. So are you. You are also going to die. We are all going to die.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this concept of life being short. Like many, I’ve seen too much of this impermanence of life.

I loss 3 very close people to me this year alone and so many more in my short time here on the Earth.
These are just some of my stories of loss. You all have your own. We all do. We know people die. We know that others will die. And we know that we too will die. However, we prefer to pretend otherwise. We’re uncomfortable with death. We don’t like it. We struggle to accept it. Hope and optimism stand as sentinels to keep these thoughts far from our minds.

The reality is that for some, life is indeed far too short. They are with us and then suddenly they are not. There are often no warnings that a smile will be the last, or that we should give just a little extra hug. There is no warning that death might be waiting at the next red light, railway crossing, etc.
These are the kinds of stories that tell us that life is short and that we should use such brevity as motivation to embrace life. However, life is not always short.

When I think of the phrase “life is short”, I am not motivated. I’m reminded of loss, pain, tragedy, and a sense of emotional hollow in which one could hide a universe. The phrase “life is short” seems like a superficial cliché that is used to justify self-indulgent, short-term gratification. Life is not always short. It is also not always long. It is often, however, extremely unpredictable, which is a blessing at times and a tragedy at others. If we could read the script, then we wouldn’t have the joy of living these wonderful lives of ours.

I can think of nothing that I will do because “life is short” that I’m also not going to do in case life is long. Therefore, at least for me, this temporal qualifier seems absolutely pointless—as if we’re meant to pretend to be in the final minutes of some sports activity and must act now or face certain defeat. However, the clock of life is uncertain; it’s unpredictable. We don’t know how much time is left.
We should do something not because life is short (or long) but because we have but one unique life in which to enjoy and strive to accomplish our dreams—or, more importantly, enjoy the path of that endeavor. It’s not the potential brevity of life that should motivate us. We should be motivated simply by life itself. Whether short or long, life is always unique and valuable.

My motivation is that I am, and my drive is for what I can be—for however much time I have.