Life is Too Short by Rambling Raven
By Raven • Jun 29th, 2009 • Category: Rambling Raven •
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Life Is Too Short by Rambling Raven
On June 25, 2009 the world of music was shaken to its core. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, passed away from cardiac arrest at the age of 50. Michael was the top-selling recording artists of all time. Who on this earth has never heard a song from the album Thriller, or witness the dancing phenomenon known as the “moonwalk”? Aside from his sometimes troubled life, Michael Jackson will always be remembered as the greatest pop star of all time. May he rest in peace.
When I learned of Jackson’s death I was stunned. I was left breathless. I knew immediately that I wanted to in some way write about Michael in my blog this week. I could easily write a musical tribute. Since the world learned of Jackson’s death there have been many blogs dedicated to his life’s work. Instead, I want to focus a little on the very harsh lesson that Michael’s death is teaching the world, the very lesson that left such a pit in my stomach. The lesson that no matter who you are or what you do in life tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us.
We put off doing so much for ourselves. We put off going back to school, taking that dream vacation, getting into shape, resolving conflicts within our relationships, or simply writing that great American novel. We assume we have all the time in the world. Truth of the matter is that we don’t.
Life is too short to continue to procrastinate. I know for me there is a list of a million things that I want to do. So many things I keep pushing to the backburners of my life. The shameful fact is that I don’t have any real reasons as to why I keep pushing those things back. For example, I have always wanted to write a novel. And why haven’t I? The only excuse I keep telling myself and to others is that I never seem to have the time to dedicate to it. I keep promising myself that sometime in the near future I’ll do it. The truth of the matter is that time is ticking away and I let fears and doubts and the hum-drum of everyday living predict to me when I will finally put pen to paper.
Life is too short so we must seize the day. Live life as if everyday can be the last. Life is too precious to be taken for granted. Everyday I want to laugh, sing and dance. There certainly will be harsh and difficult things to deal with, everyone encounters them. The trick is to not let those things take away your pursuit of happiness or of a life well lived. In the end, no on wants a load of regrets. In the end, we want to leave behind a legacy of love, peace and happiness. Michael Jackson in so many ways was a tortured soul. Yet, he left the world with a catalogue of great music that will live on forever. Music that when heard will bring joy to many. I still remember where I was when I saw the video Billie Jean for the first time. I remember the smiles on the faces of those around me as we witnessed a legend in the making. Few people will ever leave an imprint on the world the way Michael Jackson did. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t make our own world as pleasant as possible. So go ahead and take that cooking class, learn the tango, visit the Great Wall of China. Do whatever makes your heart content because when it is all said and done it isn’t so much about the quantity of life as it is about the quality. “Live it off the wall.”
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Raven is an educator with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education. She has been an avid reader since childhood. Her favorite genres are mystery, suspense, and horror, although she will give any genre a try. She is a life long resident of Chicago. Her love of books opened her mind to people, places and events far beyond her Chicago home. Reading helped to shape her world and her opinion of the events that took place within it. No matter what demands her career requires of her, she has always found time to read and write in a journal. Along with reading and journaling, she loves to watch the sunset, and discuss hot topics with family and friends. She loves baseball, horror movies, mysteries, listening to music from every corner of the world and expressing her view of the latest books with the women of APOOO.
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Great blog piece Raven!
Nicely said Raven. I feel ya on the procrastination thing. I do it a lot.
Jennifer C´s last blog ..Stay True to You
This is so on point
Yup, I do the same thing.