“Devote the rest of your life to making progress.”
-Epictetus
We often step into the unknown, slithering like a snake trying to conceal itself in the grass, and we become overwhelmed by life. Let me restate that, we become overwhelmed by the life we have chosen, the path that we are on, and then wonder why happiness eludes us.
I was walking down the hospital hallway a couple of days ago and saw a man, probably mid-thirties who works there, and said, “How are you today?”
“Same shit different day,” was his reply.
“Are you okay?” I asked. This man says something negative about his day and his work every time I see him, so I thought maybe I needed to ask the question.
“Yeah, I guess, I am just tired of the same old grind every day. It’s just stale,” he said.
“Stale?” I asked. He chuckled but I did not, “Stale is for old bread,” I continued. “Let me ask you something. What did you see yourself doing with your life when you were, let's say, nineteen or twenty?”
“I wanted to be a carpenter and build homes for people who couldn’t afford them and make all of the furniture in their house according to their preference.”
“That sounds amazing and rewarding,” I said, “Do you know how to do that type of work?”
“I do!” He became more enthusiastic than I had ever seen him. “I have furniture that I made in my basement and garage and I just do it because it makes me happy.”
“Ah, so you do it to make you happy, and from what I am hearing, you would be happier in your life if you could do this full time?”
“Absolutely, but I feel like it’s too late,” he said as his head dropped slightly.
“Too late?” I stepped in closer, gently and sincerely and said, “It is never too late to make yourself happy.”
“Others have said that you talk like this,” he said to me.
I laughed, “I guess I got tired of thinking and talking like everyone else a long time ago. However, there is no finish line until we die. One day that will come, but we often get caught up feeling like our path has been chosen for us instead of us choosing our path. That is the great tragedy of life, not living it to our own standards but to what society places on us. I say, do something extraordinary. Do what you are passionate about. We have this one journey to walk our path. That path will often be rocky and it will ebb and flow, steering you off course, but if you keep your destination in mind, you will get there. If you want to be a carpenter and build houses and furniture for people in need, go find that path.”
“How? I have responsibilities,” he said.
“Yes, I understand that, so it will take time for you to get there. You climb a mountain one step at a time. It will take you starting because you know what happens if you never try?”
“What?” he said.
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, I heard that you talk like this,” he said.
We often let circumstances and other people choose our path for us. It is the great obstacle of life, trying to live it on our own terms, the way we want. One day we'll all be on the other side, taking that death leap, so walk the path that you want. Write your own story and be the main character in the novel that you create. Become an epic poem. To not live the life that you want, to have regrets, will send you spiraling out of control. It would be a terrible thing to be afraid all the time. Afraid to take the chances and risks that would lead to your happiness.
Yes, I talk like this.
