Life; the Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as the following:
The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body and the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual.
There of course are more, but for the purposes of this post I will stick with these. The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. I have known people that live as thought their life is over. They do nothing with the time they have. Never venture out to the land of the living or enjoy the beauty of the natural world. They live their lives through that little box in the family room, never daring to go out and attempt some of the things they see on it. For them life is truly a spectator sport. I see the sad, lonely and depressed and want to shout "get up, get out, and get moving!" That leads to the second definition, the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual. One must live life daily, it can not be watched but experienced! We all have the same amount of time each day and we can't get one second back after it has ticked away, so why not make a difference in the world you live in. Reach out and help someone, smile and speak to a perfect stranger. Tell those you love that you do love and appreciate them. Send flowers, write a love note, give a surprise gift. Each day is a series of snapshots of your life, one day when you are old and gray wouldn't it be nice to have albums of beautiful snapshots to see? The older I get the more I realize that age is truly just a number. People who love life and live each and everyday to its fullest regardless of hardships, aches and pains or the millions of other difficulties this world has, will always be young.
Love; I again reference the dictionary for the following:
Strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties(2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
I am of the belief the love is a choice and that we can and do choose whom we fall in love with. I think God intended people to be involved in relationships. He placed each of us into a family unit and that is where little newborns grow and develop most normally. Our lives are a series of relationships, some good, some bad, but most a gift to enhance our lives. We have parents, siblings, and other extended family. We grow up fall in love; have children, grandchildren and on and on it goes. We find enjoyment in common interests and strong affection arising out of kinship or personal ties. Ain't love grand?
This leads me to my final point and that is commitment. Commitment is defined as:
an act of committing to a charge or trust: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; especially : an engagement to assume a obligation at a future date.
Commitment is one of those scary words. We all commit to things daily, a job, a way of life, God, however we find talking about commitment difficult. We have preconceived ideas on what it really means. I believe that in life it is the things we love and more so the things we commit to that make our lives more than mundane days. Love and commitment are what make life worth living.
