Blog #767: The Quiet Disappearance

There’s oxygen.
And there’s OXYGEN.

We need both.

______

First…

Let me talk about couches.

It’s extra comfy sitting THERE.
No defeats, less crap, and zero humiliations.

Making the call.
Opening the mail.
Creating the shopping list.
Scanning the night’s TV schedule.

Those are your biggies.

BUT…

When those become our DAYS…
We start losing OXYGEN.

And before we know it…
We’re snail shells without the snail.

______

Me?

I have no interest in replaying my life’s “Best of…” reruns in my head.
I have no intention of getting hooked on somebody else’s reality TV show.

I don’t want to live my past.
I don’t want to live someone else’s future.

I.
Want.
To.
Breathe.

Today.

______

Ohhh…

Age is changing me.

My face.
My body.
My energy.
My nervous system.

But just because I don’t like the changes…
doesn’t mean I am surrendering to them.

Not to age.
Not to fear.
Not to the comfortable excuses that whisper to me…

“You’ve done enough, Shawn.”
“Slow down.”
“Watch TV.”

NO.
Freakin’.
Way.

______

I may not go the twenty miles I once did.

But I’m not going to be less because I feel more.

I’m not going to start pasting who I was in photo albums.
And I’m not going to start making permanent butt marks on my couch.

I’m going to live…

ME.

______

And what does that look like?

Times I was scared out of my mind to catch a plane to chase an adventure…
But did it anyway.

Every mountain trail I walked where I couldn’t see around the next corner.

Meeting 1,000+ people for the first time because I said “Hi!” first.

Taking tens of wild ideas out of my head and making them happen.

Consistently turning 26 simple letters into words, sentences, blogs and books.

My OXYGEN.

______

But…

This week’s blog isn’t written just for those who feel age catching up.

It’s for the reader who wants to audition for the school play…but fears the cool kids might mock her.

It’s for the 20-something reader who knows his crappy, higher-paying job is sucking the life out of him…but can’t bring himself to walk away.

It’s for the 40-something reader still waiting for her life to begin…as if someone’s going to open the door and invite her in.

It’s for all of us who’ve wished we could dance, play, act, travel, do, and BE…but instead, let Fear leave our Life Passport with too few stamps.

______

It comes down to excuses.

We made excuses for them.
We made excuses for ourselves.

Excuses for what we did.
Excuses for what we failed to do.

Some excuses were legitimate.

But often…

Our excuses are created hoping to fool other people.
The really convincing ones quietly fool ourselves.

And the cost of getting great at making excuses?

We steal our own OXYGEN.

______

What’s your OXYGEN?

Traveling?
Dancing?
Exploring?

Writing?
Reading?
Building?

Praying?
Teaching?
Daring?

Are you still breathing your OXYGEN?

Despite aging?
Despite failure?
Despite fear?
Despite life?

Breathe.
Your.
OXYGEN.

Our couches will be there tomorrow.

But our lives are here today.

S.

PS: The photo above? I’ve lost track of which trail pictures were where. But somewhere in the world…that’s what I saw ahead of me as I walked. I love days like that. My feet move fast. My spirit claps loud. My soul breathes OXYGEN.

(Audio version)