Saturday, September 1, 2012

"Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'."

That phrase has at least been uttered by Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption in addition, I'm sure, to many others since and before. Perhaps a bit of a cliche already..? Perhaps indeed. But the thing about cliches is that they become that for a reason. Wikipedia has this to say about the matter:

"A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel."

Well, cliche or not, the phrase is meaningful and touches me very deeply right now. In the past few weeks I have allowed my fears to be running my life, to the point where I've diluted truly wonderful experiences by not being fully present for them. Fear has a tendency to block reality and in my experience also to accumulate, unless kept in check. Fear is what kills you a little bit every day, until you can no longer see the dazzling beauty of an ordinary day.

I can't afford to lose one more moment; I never want to regret experiences squandered by holding onto fear as if a friend, when in all honesty it is my enemy, distorting my every interaction. Life requires surrender, jumping into the river and letting the flow take you where it may. The destination and views along the way are bound to be a lot more exciting than trying to paddle in one place, resisting.
So, to cap it all off I say 'fuck the paddling, bring on the flow.' And that, by the way, is not a cliche.

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