Everything's temporary, and nothing really matters.
That's not supposed to be depressing and negative, it's simply the truth about this life and the world we live in. I'm not going to be the first person you hear talk about the fact that our lives are short little blips in the grand scheme of this planet and Universe.
That's just the way it is.
I was having a conversation with a businessman the other day, talking about grief and death and the messes that are sometimes left behind when we leave (I tend to end up in deep, existential conversations wherever I go, and it's basically the best). We talked about fear and avoidance, and how people just don't want to think about any of it at all.
With a bit of a chuckle, he said to me, "I think people just don't want to handle this stuff because they have to admit that they're not going to make it out alive... and you know, it happens to the best and the worst of us!"
If you've followed me for a while, you know that I don't have a fear of death. I'm not afraid of it, nor am I oblivious to it. In fact, I live my life with a hyper awareness of it... that at any moment, I could be gone.
And while to some that sounds stressful and morbid, to me it's everything. It's the fuel that drives me to build my business and reach more people. To create, express, and connect. To love deeply and intensely, and towards everyone I have the honor of knowing in this life. To stop taking things for granted. To stop wasting time on the things and people that don't fit. To make the time and space to experience all there is to experience.
We waste time because we forget that we don't have an endless supply of it at our disposal.
We don't let ourselves love the people we want to love, do the things we want to do, pursue the passions that light us up, or reject the people and things that we simply don't resonate with. We think, "I'll deal with/get around to this later". But what if later never comes?
Over the years I've also learned a lot about meaning. To really recognize on a cellular level that everything's temporary and nothing really matters... well, that once pushed me into a deep depression and detachment from everything. For years I was incredibly numb, and I mastered the art of appearing to feel and experience things like happiness and excitement. But really, I didn't feel anything.
While it was a incredibly difficult period for me, it was also one of the best things I've ever experienced... because I realized, that things being temporary and nothing really mattering in the grand scheme, that means we get to decide what has meaning and purpose for us and our lives. We get to decide what and who is worth feeling happy and excited about.
Meaning is what we make it, and when we choose to find meaning in places, people, things, and experiences that others overlook, life becomes magical and fulfilling and truly amazing. Sometimes we just have to take a step back and ask ourselves if what we're giving meaning to is really important and meaningful to us on a soul level... and if not, we can choose to find meaning in things that really light us up.
What will you choose to give meaning to?