Life Is Not Short!

I honestly do not understand why people are always saying “life is short, so live it to its fullest!” Name one thing that you can do that is longer than life itself, I dare you.

How do we define our lives? Some might define their lives by their accomplishments; some might define their lives by who they spent it with; some might define their lives by laughs, smiles, tears, heartaches, and overall experiences. Some might define their lives by how others view them. Some might define their lives by how they felt about what they were doing.

The simple fact of the matter is that life is a long and exciting journey. Sometimes it ends sooner than we’d like, but that doesn’t make it short. There are 365 days in a year, not including leap years. If you only ever did ONE new thing, ONE fun thing, ONE crazy thing, ONE romantic thing, ONE simple thing, ONE unbelievable thing, or ONE unforgettable thing - PER DAY - for the rest of your life, then there is no way in hell that you could ever go out with regrets.

People are always talking about how they wished they did this, or thought of doing that, or had more time to do the things that they wanted to do. Guess what? There IS time!

All of the activities below could be done in less than 20 minutes, and these are just the ones I thought of in the space of 3 minutes. There are 1440 minutes in a day - imagine how many wonderful things you could do in a single day, never mind an entire lifetime!

-Grab a bottle of bubbles and head outside!
- Roll out a sheet of bubble wrap, grab some heeled shoes, and dance!
- Make snow angels in the winter!
- Get creative with bubble bath!
- Make the world’s BEST paper airplane!
- Sing at the top of the your lungs!
- Dance in the rain!
- Challenge your dog to a race around the kitchen island - trust me, once you get going, you don’t want to stop!
- Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while!
- Stomp around in the mud!
- Try a new food!
- Paint a picture with your fingers!
- Balance a spoon on your nose!
- Write a song, poem, journal entry - anything!
- Chase a rainbow!
- Color your hair!
- Make up a body-percussion rhythm!
- Wake your neighbors up with a rooster cry - this one is tempting for some of the neighbors I’ve had!
- Take your kids outside to play!
- Wish on a star - but don’t be afraid to go out there and make the dream come true!
- Go skinny dipping - in clean water, please!
- Get your face painted!
- Go body surfing!
- Learn a new word!
- HAVE FUN!!!!!

Life is a journey, not a destination. You don’t get to a certain point and suddenly get a big prize. The ones who die young aren’t the lucky ones - they’re missing out. The average life expectancy of men and women is now 78.3 and 83, respectively. That’s about 30, 000 days, on average. … Not short, even if you don’t surpass the average life expectancy.

Have you told a stranger a secret? Have you slept under the stars? Have you loved with all your heart? Have you faced your greatest fear? Have you dangled precariously off of your couch, upside down, watching an hour of cartoons? Have you stayed perfectly still while a deer passed right in front of you? Have you helped a beetle turn back onto its feet? Have you laughed until you cried? Have you gotten a pedicure, or rode the roller coasters until you threw up? Have you gotten your palm read, or chugged a 2 Litre of Coke? Have you snorted food out of your nose when you laughed? Have you ever had a conversation with only your eyes, or eaten pretzels with whipped cream? Have you ever cartwheeled down a sidewalk, or walked the length of a football field on your hands? Have you helped an elderly person with their groceries, or raked someone’s yard for free? Have you gone to a movie theater by yourself, or encouraged a bus-full of strangers to re-enact the movie “Speed” with you until the bus driver gets back?

Have you lived?

Our lives are just that: our lives. They’re ours to do as we please. Whether we fill them with friends and family, animals, fantasy worlds, charity work, obscene behavior, or overall grumpiness, it’s our choice. You can spend your life taking the backseat, steering clear of putting yourself out there to get hurt, or you can get your ass out there and live it. How you live it is up to you.

But please, PLEASE, don’t ever think that life is short. The people who think that, are the ones who are letting their lives pass them by.