With all of the raptures and apocalypses and Antichrists we’ve faced in the past few years, I’m afraid my children won’t be able to successfully complain about anything. “You think you have it bad? Did your world end? No? Didn’t think so. Shut up and eat your spinach.”
On a more serious note, think about it. Really stop and think about it. Whether you believe that the jaws of Hell are going to swallow us whole in a fiery apocalypse or the zombies are going to gnaw on your scalps in the night, this very well could be our last year on earth. We don’t know how long we have on this pretty blue marble. Maybe the world will end, or maybe your time card will be punched quietly and unobtrusively in the night. Maybe… just maybe, you’ll live.
Either way, wouldn’t it be nice if we lived as though we didn’t have a guarantee of tomorrow? If we still planned for our futures, but we seized each day and lived rather than just survived? If we made every moment matter and went to sleep each night without regrets?
Be brave. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid or playing it safe, but be brave. Do something that frightens you. Smile at a stranger. Introduce yourself to someone new. Share your art with another. Laugh. Cry. Make decisions based on what you feel in your heart is right, whether or not that’s the “smart” decision. Remember that you matter. Love. Let yourself be loved. Dream. Live.
A wise friend reminded me recently that no matter how hard we work at this life thing, none of us will make it out alive. No point in living if we don’t give it our all, eh?
Hang in there, sugar people. You’re loved, you’re valued, and you’re missed when you’re not around. Don’t forget that.
Good luck in 2012.
*Stands up and applauds*