Are You Getting Ready to Live But Never Living?
28 August 2007
“We are always getting ready to live but never living.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
What does this quotation about life mean to you? I think this sentence beautifully captures my life’s motto, my worldview about mankind and life. I remember telling myself that if I could just finish school that I would be “happy.” I finished but still felt “empty.” I remember saying, “If I can just get that job then I’d be happy.” Well, I got it but was still running on empty.Up until a few years ago, I was a spectator of life. You know, always watching and hoping that something good or great was going to happen to me. I planned and envisioned all these great things happening in my life and to my life. Of course that was wishful thinking because there were no efforts and no actions behind these thoughts, merely “getting ready’s.” But then something inside of me just clicked. Something within told me to stop “watching” and start “jumping in.” And what a scary feeling that was to step out of my comfort zone, to do something that I had never done before; to reach beyond myself. Cliché? Perhaps, but that’s exactly what happened to my life.What I love about this quotation is that it can be asked within a mental health, career counseling, or professional coaching setting. In fact, if phrased as a question, it can certainly be a solution-focused, brief therapy type question.
What about you? What keeps you motivated to live life instead of just “getting ready to live” it?
4 comments… read them below or add one
Working in counseling with high school kids, I find I can’t help but live life. If a teacher (or any adult) gets to know teens and earns their trust, they kind of drag you into life since they generally live it very immediately and intensely. I’ve found this goes with those who are “stable” but doubly more for those who are lost and need help.
That’s what does it in my job.
Thank you so much for sharing. Yes, I do find that many teenagers and young adults live life “immediately and intensely.” For me, the more I work with this age group, the more they keep me young and on my toes.
You’ve got me thinking. I have no idea what I’m doing right now…preparation or living. Everyday is very routine for me - I work on the weekdays and come home to my kids, I go grocery shopping and spend time with my kids and husband on the weekends. It’s difficult to do too much with a toddler and a baby - or is that just an excuse? It’s difficult to do a whole lot on Saipan with no disposable income and a completely irrational fear of all things aquatic - or is that another excuse?
But here’s something I did - launchyourself.blogspot.com
Deece: I think that’s awesome what you’re doing! And never doubt for one second that you are “living” because being a mother and raising two children require constant “here and now” living. You are a great mother and a very kind person. We miss you, James, Katelyn, and Jacob very much.
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