Meaning without action

It's hard to listen when the words being flung at you have no meaning. People can be told to eat their vegetables, but they don't until they are facing serious health ailments. Life brings meanings to words and that is the only way we are expected to listen.

Laws are written. Some people follow them blindly because that is all they have ever known. When a law becomes enforced, either people start to oblige to it or they start to question it. Most people want to avoid getting punished so they will be a law abiding citizen, but others argue for the justification of certain laws if it in some way offends them or their way of life. The bottom line is that a law is only as effective as its enforcement.

Laws are not the only thing that lack a certain meaning until they are acted upon. Deaths are too. Most people have a feeling of certainty that they will live to see the next sunset, when there is no guarantee in that. But we continue to live that way because we have to keep our lives in order. There is no time for us to live our lives the way we want because the way we want to live requires us give up something else. When someone we know dies, we have a surge of life. We realize that life is precious and that we should not be wasting it.

This befuddles me. Why must someone die in order for us to value our time? Every day is a gift. That means that it was graced upon us and is a mystery until the day is through. Receiving a gift is a great feeling and we should never take it for granted. Why do we think that each day is a natural right when nature can take it from us at any time? It is just heart-wrenching that someone needs to pass in order to make us live our lives the way we want, at least for a few moments.

We should be leading a life we can be proud of at any time in our lives. That does not mean we should just quit our jobs so we can go backpacking through Europe with no money. This means that we should live for the now and appreciate what we have while we have it. If you are working in a job you do not particularly care for, you should remember that plenty of other people who do not have jobs would be more than willing to fill in your slot and take your salary. If you can make the positives in your job bright and shiny, it will be hard for you to notice the dull, lackluster negatives. Life is not measured in possessions, its measured in smiles and happiness.

Life is meaningful and death should not be the only thing that reminds you. Don't live a life that you don't want to live because that can only hurt yourself. Live for love, not for money. Live for laughs, not for fame. Live for family, not for gold. Live for yourself, not for anyone's approval. Life is precious and we should remember that every day. Make your days better by starting it off with a smile at the crack of dawn and finishing it with one too. Life is what you make it and you can make it anyway you please. Happiness is the key to locked doors. Go and open one today.

This is what I saw on my pier today. What will you see on yours?