Get a Life

I was in the bookstore one day when I came across this book. It was titled- A Short Guide to a Happy Life. I picked it up and started reading- it looked small enough to get through in 5 minutes, but I ended up buying it and I have read it almost every day since. I just want to share some of the ideas the author Anna Quindlen shares. The ideas are simple enough, but I think that sometimes we overlook them. She writes-

"You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It’s so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit...

I suppose the best piece of advice I could give anyone is pretty simple: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion... Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes... Get a life in which you pay attention to the baby as she scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.

Turn off your cell phone. Turn off your regular phone, for that matter. Keep still. Be present.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not a leisure, it is work. Each day I look at my diploma, I remember that I am still a student, still learning every day how to be human…”

This idea “Get a life” screamed at me from the page. I think that so many of us run through life just trying to get to the next stage, to finish college, get a job, get married, have kids. These are all super important things- they are all part of life- but personally I always need to tell myself to stop running!

“Learn to love the journey not just the destination”- We need to give ourselves time to think, to figure out who we are, to enjoy the beautiful and complex world that G-d made for us to thrive in. I think its so important to figure out how to honestly appreciate this world because this world really is a gift for all of us to realize and actualize our potentials.