What Does My Life Motto REALLY Mean?
For anyone who has been reading my blogs of late, you might have noticed a recurring theme...change. Yes, I am changing. To some in my family this has become a source of concern. "Why is Linda doing some of these things?" "She's getting very brave!"
So I thought I would try to explain this by using my Life Motto. Now, this Life Motto of mine is not new. I didn't make it up. It's been around a long time. I actually have had a wall hanging of it in my house for a very long time. This quote first appeared in a book by Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967. In researching this author, I found that he used mind altering drugs (LSD), and ended his own life at the age of 68. So while I'm not really sure what this quote meant to him, I can assure you that to me it means embracing life, not ending it.
Here's the quote I'm speaking of:
This quote always "spoke" to me. Maybe because I've never been a quiet, reserved person. Just the opposite. I was a really bad kid, and daily spankings were the norm for me. I have always been loud, with my laugh being heard by neighbors when I'm home, and my coworkers in the clinical area at work when I'm at the front desk. I've always loved being in the thick of things, never one to sit on the sidelines. So it has always seemed fitting. But enough of that...
What DOES this quote really mean to me?
This quote means we should not be "saving" the good china for a special occasion. Wear that good jewelry, use those good linens, take the plastic off that sofa (ok, I don't think anyone does that anymore, but you get the picture)! Life IS a special occasion! And life is every day, not just when you have special company or just for Sunday. I think this means to get out there, play hard, work hard, be someone's best friend, be someone's cohort in some fun scheme! Don't sit around waiting for death, because it's coming eventually. Live your life! Live it hard and live it on the edge! Now, I'm not saying to do extremely foolish and dangerous things that tempt fate. No! But, if you want to do something totally out of character for you, don't worry about what people will say. They will talk whether you do it or not, so might as well give them something to talk about! Jump out of that plane! Get on that motorcycle and take off! Do whatever it is you REALLY want to do!
How does this all pertain to me? Well, at the age of 60, I have finally awakened. I want to skydive, go to the Daytona 500, run my first 5k. I want to do a LOT more, too! Maybe it was turning 60 that actually woke me up! Whatever it was, I am so glad it did! I have adopted a much healthier lifestyle, taken up running again (I ran in my younger days before a knee injury), become much more active with my writing, which has always been a love of mine, and started kayaking. I have more energy than I know what to do with, and that brings me to the ending of this quote. Obviously, running, kayaking, skydiving, and hanging out in the pits at Nascar races, I'm not planning to arrive in a pretty, well preserved body. I SO plan to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up and totally worn out. I WILL be loudly proclaiming Wow! What a Ride! And they'll hear me in the next county because I'm loud!
So friends.......
So I thought I would try to explain this by using my Life Motto. Now, this Life Motto of mine is not new. I didn't make it up. It's been around a long time. I actually have had a wall hanging of it in my house for a very long time. This quote first appeared in a book by Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967. In researching this author, I found that he used mind altering drugs (LSD), and ended his own life at the age of 68. So while I'm not really sure what this quote meant to him, I can assure you that to me it means embracing life, not ending it.
Here's the quote I'm speaking of:
What DOES this quote really mean to me?
This quote means we should not be "saving" the good china for a special occasion. Wear that good jewelry, use those good linens, take the plastic off that sofa (ok, I don't think anyone does that anymore, but you get the picture)! Life IS a special occasion! And life is every day, not just when you have special company or just for Sunday. I think this means to get out there, play hard, work hard, be someone's best friend, be someone's cohort in some fun scheme! Don't sit around waiting for death, because it's coming eventually. Live your life! Live it hard and live it on the edge! Now, I'm not saying to do extremely foolish and dangerous things that tempt fate. No! But, if you want to do something totally out of character for you, don't worry about what people will say. They will talk whether you do it or not, so might as well give them something to talk about! Jump out of that plane! Get on that motorcycle and take off! Do whatever it is you REALLY want to do!
How does this all pertain to me? Well, at the age of 60, I have finally awakened. I want to skydive, go to the Daytona 500, run my first 5k. I want to do a LOT more, too! Maybe it was turning 60 that actually woke me up! Whatever it was, I am so glad it did! I have adopted a much healthier lifestyle, taken up running again (I ran in my younger days before a knee injury), become much more active with my writing, which has always been a love of mine, and started kayaking. I have more energy than I know what to do with, and that brings me to the ending of this quote. Obviously, running, kayaking, skydiving, and hanging out in the pits at Nascar races, I'm not planning to arrive in a pretty, well preserved body. I SO plan to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up and totally worn out. I WILL be loudly proclaiming Wow! What a Ride! And they'll hear me in the next county because I'm loud!
So friends.......
Comments
Post a Comment