“You have to live, to live.” ~ The Orange Rhino® (or, if someone said it well before me and I just don’t know, then well, them.)
For some reason, this saying has been on repeat in my mind since the Superbowl. As I watched the commercials, my brain began churning, thinking about consumer behavior and the geniuses behind several concepts. I began to feel a little more excited and energized than earlier in the day. I distinctly remember thinking, “You have to live, to live.” How did I remember this?
Well simple, I wrote it down on a post it note. I remember writing it and thinking, well duh. But I also remember thinking, “well clearly you are writing it down because it impacted you so maybe not so duh.” Yes, I didn’t want to forget the saying, what it meant to me, and how I felt in that moment.
What it meant? Girl, you have to get out and do things, new things; things you love, things you miss; things that wake up your brain; things that make you grow, reflect; things out of the ordinary, mundane, everyday routine.
You need to live your life, not just go through it. And when you live it, actually live it by doing things in it – then you will find that you are actually, actively, living.
How I felt? ALIVE. Really, alive.
And it felt awesome. I felt energized. Joyful. Peaceful. Uplifted. Excited.
I felt the same way – and remember that saying – when I read a book a month or so on a quick vacation. The book had new ideas for self growth that got me thinking instead of just going along with status-quo about my life. I felt energized, hopeful, ready to try some new things.
I felt alive this past week when I stayed in a hotel for just one night with my son. Just one night, two hours from our home. We arrived and I had so much energy from being in a new place and from having just had dinner in a new type of pizza place.
I felt alive the next day, when we went exploring and had breakfast at this cute place and the walls reminded us to “start each day as if it were our birthday.” Yes! Start each day with joy and the extra pep in your step that *usually* comes with a birthday.
I felt alive just yesterday when I made myself put the monotonous house chores aside so that I could enjoy the rare, beautiful 80 degree day. We went shopping for some new plants and I researched different peonies and grasses. I then planted while listening to the birds.
And I felt alive last week when I chatted with the lady at CVS (see post from Saturday morning.) Anytime I have a random, kind interaction with a stranger or share a compliment, I feel alive. I want to live more. I want to be more intentional with my time. It is so, so easy to get into a standard routine. To not take breaks. To not nourish our minds or bodies with things we love or even new experiences. To just go about our days, quasi-really living, quasi just going through the motions.
I know. I do the quasi-really living a lot. Way more than I like. But everytime I really live, everytime I do something beyond the daily motions, I ask myself, why are you not doing this more? Why do you let yourself slip into the routine? It’s a great question.
But the bigger, perhaps better question, and easier to answer, is… What will I do today to feel like I really lived? To feel alive? To feel excited? To feel like I used the day well? What will you do? Just some Monday morning deep thoughts for ya;) Sending my warmth to go with your strength, today and always,
oxo, Sheila
🧡 The Orange Rhino
