“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there... mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. ”
I’m five months into my “One Year to Live” social experiment. My death day is at the end of June. Knowing this has informed the decisions I’ve made regarding how I spend my time and who I spend it with.
I’ve said yes to projects that feel impactful. I’ve said yes to the people who makes me feel more curious, contemplative, embodied, expansive, and safe. I’ve said yes to any adventure that’s in nature, especially when it involves single-track and sunsets and special people.
With the clock ticking, what a waste it is to fret about things that won’t matter in a year. Limits and boundaries do that. They distill what matters.
For now, life lately has meant living in deep gratitude, forgiving and mending old debts, and doing my best to speak to every person as if it may be the last time I see them.
Being conscious and aware of my death helps me live better.