What is life?
I think I’ve seen it in my little dog’s eyes. In my family’s love. In my friends support. For a while I thought I saw it in a blue sports car. I know I saw it in snowboarding. I’ve felt it in my ability to breathe. In the ability to run. I’ve heard it in music. In songs that changed my life. I’ve felt it in a hug. I’ve lived it through many, many incredible experiences. I’ve also seen it disappear when my grandma and my little brother left this earth right in front of my eyes. Taking their last breaths and being gone from this earth forever. I felt it when my old lungs died, when I was given this second chance at life. When I was given a second chance to hear.
I know life. Intimately. I have been a huge fan for past 35 years. Even with the setbacks and struggles. I love life. I never dipped my toes into the ocean of life. Not once. I did a huge gigantic belly flop into life. Paddling to stay afloat and living in what I would call a beautiful privilege. Given much less time than most assume they have. But life somehow gave me more.
Although I felt largely like it was to my advantage, the timeline, I just had to hustle. Do what I wanted to do in the time I might have, because I had no idea how long I’d get. But throughout that time I’ve found, felt, seen, lived, experienced and heard life, and it’s been nothing short of amazing. I do feel so very privileged with every breath I take that I know life, so very well.
Now that I’ve had the privilege to live out all of my wildest dreams and experience so many incredible things. To truly deeply live for 35 for years. To love. I’m curious as to what life actually is. For me and others. Since for me it changes drastically day by day. I have realized it was never that blue sports car. May not have even been snowboarding. Could it have been that song I listened to 1,000 times in a row when I was going through that tough time.
Maybe it was my friend’s support. Is life the love of my family? Or is it indeed looking into my little dogs eyes. It has to be the ability to breathe, right? Running seems to make me emotional still, after all these years. Though maybe life is all of these things. Maybe it’s none of them. Yet I wonder if maybe life is whatever you believe it is in this moment. Whatever you need or want to believe life is. Whatever you need it to be to be able to keep going.
What is life to you? In this very moment? Maybe just that, is life.