Change isn't the Only Constant Thing

The permanence of Life's greatest enemy

The only thing constant in life is change

You probably have seen or heard the above quote in different places and articles. Sometimes it is quoted by Benjamin Franklin. Another time it is mentioned by either Greek Philosophers: Heraclitus or Aristotle. A lot of prominent figures have given their variation of the quote, an act that in itself highlights the message buried in this quote in a very subtle way: We are all constantly changing whether internally or externally. However, that is not what this article is about. Read on.

Like all people, my emotions are not an exception to the rule of change. It's not newsworthy I get discouraged sometimes (I wrote about navigating that feeling here). I can't be happy-go-lucky all the time so when I get frustrated, I look for ways to manage the feeling. Talking, meditation or anything “aspire to inspire” helps sometimes. Another thing that helps is Movies.

A scene from a movie I watched recently particularly stood out to me. A lady discovers the death of a loved one without anybody saying a word. With just a look on the face of the person supposed to break the news, she knew. With nothing said or uttered, she understood and tears followed. Having seen this scene both onscreen and off-screen, it's safe to say Death is scary and not just scary, it’s also powerful such that the moment its rears its head, the pathway of those left behind is changed.

If we look at it though: even though most of us fear it, I am not sure Death as a person or thing gives a shit. I mean this guy or lady (whatever gender you want to ascribe to it) takes and keeps on taking. Whether we made our bed or not. Whether we ate this morning or not. Whether we live our life or did that thing we wanted to do. Despite the choices we make or do not make, death will come for us at the end of the day.

So if Death doesn't care about what people think and is just doing its job, what's stopping me from doing the same? If Death is living its own life, albeit however twisted this may sound, living with purpose, why shouldn't we? Take a moment and ask yourself this, why shouldn't I? Why not make the most of the time we have, just as Death doesn't waste time and takes without hesitation?

Now I am not saying live your life with reckless abandon ( that will negate the whole point of this article but if you want to, feel free). And I am not saying plan everything in your life (You can try but you really can't plan it all). Instead, live life with a plan, while fully aware of what you can and can't control. An archer understands there are factors such as wind speed that he can't control, yet he plans for this and still takes his shot. So live like this. Live life to the fullest. You won't survive it anyway.

Till next time,

Salud.