Live life to the fullest and all that crap

We all have heard it. It’s everywhere. First it was the inspirational books. Then there appeared the countless inspirational websites. Now they’ve moved on to social networking platforms. Twitter is full of self-appointed gurus, telling the world every day about it. We all have been followed at some point or another by one of them. You know the type, following 22,839 people, each tweet an inspirational phrase. Or even worse, a link. No engagement whatsoever.

I would love to be able to say they’re full of crap. Unfortunately, I can’t. They are actually right. One should live life to the fullest. The problem is defining what “to the fullest” means.

Some people think that in order to live to the fullest they must be in this permanent adrenalin high. Always in the run, always trying something new -just for the sake of trying.  It doesn’t matter what, as long as it is new. A cooking course this month, a slam poetry course next month. Scuba diving? Shooting elephants in Africa? Juggling snakes? Sure! just add them to my to do list, I’ll squeeze them between Underwater Golf on Thursday and Ostrich Racing on Friday. I’m not even making this up. Check out the Top 30 New Extreme Sports.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Learning new things is not only good but advisable. Bucket lists are a good thing too. Specially when you add a date to them. It gives you purpose. It helps you go through life. All these things can bring great joy to your life when done in a reasonable fashion.

But let’s rewind for a second.

To the fullest. Right!

To the fullest can be sitting down not moving. Maybe in a park, listening to the wind blow through the leaves. Or in your living room, after a day’s work, listening to your child talk about the new story she read today. Or going for a run, just you, and the pavement. No fears, no annoying co-workers, no insanely demanding boss. Just you and the pavement.

To the fullest can also be calling (or emailing, texting, DMing, Beluga-ing) that friend you haven’t seen in months just to touch base. Oh hey, we can even get extreme here. How about telling your loved ones that you love them? imagine that!

I’m no guru. I’m no expert. I’m just a regular Jane. But I have gone through enough crap to learn a bit about life. So a long time ago, I decided I was gonna live every day like it was the last one. That’s why I hug people all the time. That’s why I don’t mind getting dirty playing with doggies. That’s why I go for walks in the rain and jump in as many puddles as I can. That’s why I tell people I love them. What if I’m dead tomorrow and they never knew? wouldn’t that be sad?

So take the time to find out what “to the fullest” means to you. And then go right ahead and do it!

And then -if you want, drop me a line to let me know how it went.

And whatever you do, don’t forget to dance