Have you ever just sat down and observed people from a distance? Not in a stalker-ish way but in a curious one. Have you ever had a conversation with someone much older than you and notice how they look when they tell you stories from the past? As if they’re not really into what’s happening at the moment but someplace else. Not in a crazy way but in a reminiscent one.
I’m not asking you to snoop into others’ businesses; I’m asking you to listen carefully when people tell you their stories. Listen attentively to the way they tell you their good memories. Listen intently and notice the catch in their voices when they tell you how happy they were in those moments; and then evaluate yourself if you, yourself, have enough stories to tell when you reach the age where, suddenly, you’re the one looking back on the good ol’ days.
This is a gentle reminder to fill your life with memories worth smiling about in years to come; it’s the permission you’re looking for to do the things you’ve been putting off for the couple of weeks or months; this is the push you’re waiting for to do what you want; this is the sign that you’re hoping to live a little, if not a lot.
This is to remind you to stop depriving yourself of the simple pleasures of life and to just do whatever it is that you want to do. Don’t be afraid to try new things, or to even change some old ways. I know that doubts would always be lurking at the back of your mind, same as it’s always lurking at the back of mine, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking a few risks of your own because, really, there are always pros to every con.
I hope that you’d be brave enough to do all the things that you know would give you joy. I hope that when the time comes that you’re the one sitting and waiting for people to tell your stories to you’d have a number of moments to share. I hope that the catch in your voice when you reminisce won’t be because of regrets but because of the laughter that you’d be unsuccessfully holding in for the reason that you’d still feel the same happiness you felt when you did whatever you thought you couldn’t.
What I’m trying to say is that I hope when you look back and wish you could turn back time it won’t be because of the things you didn’t do but because you’d like to feel the same rush you felt when you did all the things you wanted to do.
Loosen up a little. No one ever enjoys listening in to stories about the days you spent not doing anything, anyway.
Featured image via Holly Bartley on Unsplash
