Bravo, Ryan. Lovely exploration of what it means to live. Your various interpretations of this concept, YOLO, land for this reader.
A recent misdiagnosis of an illness (that I am still battling) left me in a state for 24 hours, where I understood I had about 3-5 years ahead of me, each one with less lung capacity than the former, ending somewhere gasping for breath. An awful demise, no doubt, but I could only grapple with how I would spend those final years, however many they may be. Thankfully, it wasn't doing something different. It was doing what I'm already doing but with a renewed (and unapologetic) determination to execute.
Having shared this experience with my friend Toku, he shared a link to this post with me. I now understand why.
Speaking of sharing, thank you for doing so with this story.
So lovely. thank you for sharing your story. It sucks that you had to be in that space for 24 hours, but what a gift to have that perspective. Glad you're healthy.
I am getting ready to head out on a weekend backpacking trip. Timely. My mind and body have been getting hit by physical and emotional Tsunami's leaving me spinning and lost. What a great invitation for me to think and reflect differently. What would my life look like if I only had one day left?
When I read this, my body jolted in somatic resonance:
"But my achieving mind gets its juice through comparison, and anyone and everyone is fair game (as long as they’ve achieved more than I have. To those who haven’t, I’m somehow blind)."
I am attached to my achieving mind and and caught in finite thinking with a scarcity mindset.
Bravo, Ryan. Lovely exploration of what it means to live. Your various interpretations of this concept, YOLO, land for this reader.
A recent misdiagnosis of an illness (that I am still battling) left me in a state for 24 hours, where I understood I had about 3-5 years ahead of me, each one with less lung capacity than the former, ending somewhere gasping for breath. An awful demise, no doubt, but I could only grapple with how I would spend those final years, however many they may be. Thankfully, it wasn't doing something different. It was doing what I'm already doing but with a renewed (and unapologetic) determination to execute.
Having shared this experience with my friend Toku, he shared a link to this post with me. I now understand why.
Speaking of sharing, thank you for doing so with this story.
So lovely. thank you for sharing your story. It sucks that you had to be in that space for 24 hours, but what a gift to have that perspective. Glad you're healthy.
I am getting ready to head out on a weekend backpacking trip. Timely. My mind and body have been getting hit by physical and emotional Tsunami's leaving me spinning and lost. What a great invitation for me to think and reflect differently. What would my life look like if I only had one day left?
When I read this, my body jolted in somatic resonance:
"But my achieving mind gets its juice through comparison, and anyone and everyone is fair game (as long as they’ve achieved more than I have. To those who haven’t, I’m somehow blind)."
I am attached to my achieving mind and and caught in finite thinking with a scarcity mindset.
Thank you for this!
Gotta love that part of ourselves :) (mean that literally)
One of my all time favorite meditations is “The Last Time” by Sam Harris. It hits deep.
https://youtu.be/Jue3XOB_y80?si=N1FQUcI5OQ7PMzkn
(I’m writing this as my daughter came by in her full body bear costume from Halloween, seemingly making the point 😂)
Yeah, so good ❤️❤️