Life with passion and purpose (02/06/09)

I watched "Running the Sahara" the other night. It was a movie my brother had recommended on facebook and I knew it was right up his alley. Three men running across the Sahara desert. An insane mission and all I could think of was "Why?"

Throughout the movie it became clear that the answer to that wasn't so easy. Not for them. I think Charlie Engle said something to the effect that he didn't know if he would ever be able to process the experience, it was too vast. Over 100 days of running across one of the most beautiful and dangerous landscapes, pushing yourself far past the ultimate boundaries of what any human's body should be able to do. Wow! The fact that they made it at all is amazing and was worth watching the movie.

Something else came up during their journey though and it became obvious that, while the fact that three men running the Sahara is amazing, survival on any level in those areas is amazing and there are a great many that don't survive due to something we take for granted daily. H2O. I have my own thing with water. I don't particularly like it but somehow I have a much deeper appreciation for it and taking the time to read more about the water crisis in Africa made me reflect on issues other than my own.

And that started me thinking about living life with purpose, cause, appreciation, and passion. So many times I find myself wrapped up in my own problems. I realize that I'm generally a self-centered person. It's hard for me to focus on other people's goals and problems when my own are right there in front screaming for attention. I get obsessed with the daily details and I forget to look up. Anyone who has seen me walking down the walkway or on the beach will see that I walk with my head down. Thinking (and looking for pretty seashells on the beach). So now I wonder how many sunsets I've missed, how many smiling faces I haven't met, and how many friends I haven't waved hello too?

I'm not sure how to explain what exactly I'm getting at. I think that I'm trying to figure out where to go from here still. How can I make my life worth the effort it took to get me here in the first place? How can I make others know that there own lives are appreciated and make mine better every day by just being there?

I think my first step is to let everyone know, on a regular basis, that I think about them and I'm thankful for them. So here it is to all my friends and family out there: I couldn't do it without you and it wouldn't be worth doing if I didn't have each and every one of you in my life one way or the other. My days are more meaningful as a result of having met you and learned a lot from you. I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you and making life more interesting. ( :

Step one completed. At least for today. So step two is to branch out and hopefully touch the community around me in a bigger way. Volunteering, donating, whatever seems to fit at the time. either way, the point for me is to make the time and see that my heart is in every decision I make. I'm keeping my eyes open for opportunities to do this and hopefully I'll have them open wide enough so when the chance comes, I'll grab it.

Step three is a little broader in scope for me and I don't want to over think it. It ties into how my own actions affect not just my inner circle and my community circle but how every decision has an effect on a global basis. I was thinking about this as I was driving home from work the other day. The whole Six Degrees of Separation theory came to mind and I thought about it a lot more. My own theory is that there is only one degree of separation. I thought about the pictures of the water drops and the rippling effect, how it spreads and touches everything, not noticeably at the end but still affecting everything within it's body. Then I really started analyzing and trying to come up with analogies. Bad idea! Just stick with the basics Holly.


So, this is not to say that my life hasn't had purpose or passion up until now. There have been moments of both but I think I have been extremely lacking in the appreciation corner. Losing someone close really makes you take a look to see if you would be ready to go as suddenly as they did. Whether or not your own time here is being made the most of. Whether or not you've said and done everything you possibly could that day. I'm finally done crying every time I hear John Mayers "Say" and Nickleback's "If Today was your Last Day". I think I'm starting to get it and I think my life is going to be about making the most of the time I have and the people I meet. At least that's what I'm hoping for. ( :

So much for a short note. Thanks to my friend who has taught me how to ramble so well!

Reviews

[Number Six]

Oh man, I'm sure reviewing this late. I found your rambling to be rather interesting.

Water. Oh man, I completely understand you on this subject. Often I'd cringe at water balloon fights, thinking about the water crisis (only to join in later, since it's freaking hot here in the Caribbean)

I was quite touched about the idea you had there about death and appreciation. Surely, we do take our lives for granted. But sometimes I wonder whether it's possible for us not to. After all, being alive is the only way we know to be, haha!

Your writing really made me think, and I was able to enjoy it very nicely.

Nice grammar, too.


-Number Six