Stop Existing and Start Living

I have found the secret to pure joy and contentment in life!

I watched this movie recently called the Last Holiday which stars Queen Latifah, and her love interest L.L Cool J. She acts as a cookware store assistant who is told by a doctor that she has a rare brain condition and only has a few weeks to live.

She then quits her job, liquidates her assets, and sets off on a dream vacation at the deluxe Grand hotel Pupp in the spa city of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. She basically sets out to do as much as she possibly can from a journal she had called her ‘Book of Possibilities.’

It’s not only a really funny movie, *I mean with L.L Cool J. and Queen Latifah? How could it not be funny?* it is also heart-warming and I actually learned a lesson from it. Should I spoil the ending for you? Nah, go and watch it. My take away was to stop existing and start living! We as humans tend to think we have all the time in the world, like we are invincible. I know it doesn’t feel that way but the Bible actually says life is a vapor, a mist, here today and gone tomorrow just like that.

Let me ask you a question. If you knew that you are going to die next month what would you do this month differently? I have an assignment for you; actually write down what you would do in the span of life you had left. You can even post your answer in the comments below.

I have a bucket list a mile long and it just keeps growing and growing, and I decided I am going to start working towards it now. For example I decided I want to make a difference in people’s lives so I have done as much outreach as I possibly can, and reaching out in any way I can will definitely take a big part in my future! Hopefully I’m doing it in the present through my writing as well.

Speaking of, I am going to make a career out of writing. I could either wait until I finish university, finishing this phase of my life before I start the next or take every opportunity presented to me, like the chance to grow my blog, or to intern for a blogger who has made it and can actually mentor me in the process, or chose to write as many spoken words as I can and present them whenever I am given the chance, and start and dedicate myself to the novel I am working on. That is focusing on my goal and living and breathing in my future at the present.

I also absolutely adore travelling, and have taken every opportunity in that area resulting to my having traveled to nearly 15 different countries before I am even twenty! I also decided the year I graduate, 2018 I will do a back packing trip around one continent, and every three years after that do a different continent. I don’t care if I’ll have money, I found there are so many ways to travel in a simplistic manner for almost nothing, like couch surfing, or giving labor in exchange for food and a place to stay, etc. so I am going to go for it and I know I’ll survive because it’s an adventure. I’m saving up for it as well.

The problem with living and not existing is that it requires fire breathing Faith! There will always be one obstacle, or hurdle in your way, but you can’t just wait for it to disappear before you move on with your life. Make a conscious decision that it won’t stop you from living life to the fullest. The truth is God wants you to enjoy life here on earth otherwise He wouldn’t have made it as beautiful as it is. It’s full of millions of things to see and do, smells and sounds and sights that fill our senses. From words, and pictures that take your breath away to music and laughter that pull at you to dance with glee. Take it all in, it was created for you to revel in, start living!

• Posted in: Reflections
• Tagged: Adventure, Bucket List, Deep, God's Heart, Life Lessons, Living, Love People, Musings, Reflections