Is Life Short?

Time is long but life is short.
Stevie Wonder

I’d say yes, life is short, compared to the age of our planet (4 billion years give or take). I don’t think in planetary terms every day but recently vacationed in the Caribbean where I watched the sun rise over the horizon of the ocean. But the sun didn’t rise really. We are on a (big) ball spinning completely around once every twenty-four hours that happens to be in an orbit around a star we call the sun.

Is life short? Not when I compare myself to classmates, friends, clients and pets that have preceded me in death, that didn’t have as many years as I’ve so far racked up. For them, life was short. Too short.

Here’s a slide show of loved ones gone with fewer years than me. (This is an incomplete list.)

Conclusion

Is life short? Yes. It’s too short to live angry, resentful or bitter. I think people who live that way see themselves as the center of the universe. But if they paused to watch the sunrise and contemplate what is really happening, they might change their minds realizing when they die they will gladly be forgotten along with all their petty grievances.

Is life short? Yes because there is so much beauty to behold, love to embrace, music and art to enjoy and food to taste and share in an act of communion with fellow humans before we find ourselves taking our leave of this globe we call earth.

For me, I choose to live in this moment knowing I have no guarantees for another tomorrow. In that sense, life is very short. It’s this very minute I am alive writing this blog. And that is what I love about my work. A photograph captures a moment and leaves a record… just in case.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks for dropping by,
Mike

Ps. Since I used a Stevie Wonder quote today, I’ll leave you with this video.