Avoidance

Do we spend most of our lives avoiding? Avoiding work, avoiding uncomfortable conversations, avoiding happiness, avoiding LIFE? Today's world makes it far too easy to retreat into ourselves, our phones/computers/tablets, our self-created safe zone. When did we stop living and start avoiding?

Worse yet is avoiding by prolonging. We prolong our dreams and goals by saying "when I do _____ then I can really focus on doing something I love". What happens if you never pass the roadblock to your dreams? We are missing life by focusing solely on our pathway to that dream life. Your life is NOW. Yes, it is important to have measurable goals, to plan and make a pathway to your dream, but it is important not to avoid living life while you're in it.

I'm not one of these schmucks who thinks you should live every day as your last, but I do think that when we start avoiding uncomfortable or unpleasant everyday situations we miss out on what makes life life - misery.

Hear me out - I'm not trying to say life is miserable, nor am I trying to sound like a brooding goth kid who wants to sit in the corner of the local shopping mall, donning 50 shades of black and despairing in the hopelessness of mankind. What I'm trying to say is without suffering and unpleasantness, we can't truly enjoy the good days when they come. Without the work week, the weekend wouldn't be as sweet. Without all of the hard work and sacrifices to reach your goal and/or dream life, would it still be worth it?

Ultimately, I'm trying to stop avoiding and start living. I want to be able to look back at all of the "suffering" and know I could have things worse. I want be able to stand in awe my crepuscular ray, and realize the dark clouds are still there. I want to be able to realize when things are good, know when they aren't, and realize that good things will peek through all of the bad eventually. I want to LIVE.