Feel free to fill in what matters most to you.
No, seriously. Fill in something and think about it for a bit.
Over the past couple of years, my life has taken some odd turns—to say the least—which I couldn't have anticipated. Life-changing moments which have, and are currently, shaping who I am. Willing to acknowledge that I am, in fact, in my mid-40s, I guess I should probably admit that I do believe learning and growing never really cease. At the same time, though, I fear many who have not endured a life-threatening experience may be missing out on the more important message. (Bear with me.)
Most people go through life never having to face the true meaning of 'sudden death'. In fact, recent studies have shown that in the U.S., Australia, and Germany, at most, only 15% of the population will go through what psychologists refer to as an NDE (near-death experience [real or perceived]). That means that roughly 85% of the population is left to sympathize, rather than empathize, with the notion that life really is too precious. Granted, I shudder at the thought of anyone having to face death and live to tell about it. It's a horrifying, degrading, life-altering, often shameful experience that leaves many sufferers with residual psychological defects, malfunctions, or worse, never-ending scars that have to be contended with on a near-daily basis.
To those who haven't experienced an NDE, allow me a chance to try and explain why clinging to the "life is too precious" adage is incredibly important:
1. You don't know your destiny. You can try to gauge what it might be, try to put your life on a trajectory to achieve a certain destiny, even force yourself into life-altering situations in order to better shape your future self to become better; but you never really know what will happen tomorrow. Or in the next minute. Anything can change at any moment, and your best bet is to be prepared for the worse while planning for the best. (Yes, another adage.)
2. When you don't see life as being too precious to let go to waste, you're essentially embracing an apathetic view of you, your potential, your future, and, believe it or not, everyone who is in your life. Your parents likely hoped for a bright future. Your grandparents may have even spoiled you in hopes of instilling hope into your own life. Your significant other (hopefully) sacrifices energy, time, and emotion in order to both support and encourage you. To disregard life being too precious is to spit in the face of everything and everyone else. Harsh? Yes. True? For some, yes again. Offended? Good! It might be time to reevaluate who you are, what you hold dear, and what you hope for, as opposed to becoming defensive.
3. By holding onto life as being too precious, you automatically install hope in yourself. Remember the scene in The Shawshank Redemption when Red was reading Andy's letter he'd hidden by the tree? "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." True words, and by allowing yourself to value life regardless of circumstance, you allow yourself the opportunity to hope for, and accept, improvement.
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), by David Hockney (1937-Present), is an acrylic-on-canvas, "pop art" piece he created in 1972 after visiting the Los Angeles area in 1964. What was originally started in 1971 was soon abandoned based on his distaste for the original composition. After a lot of traveling and research, he picked it back up and completed it in a manner of months.
Broad strokes and water-color-like effects stand in stark contrast to the areas in the painting which show greater pointed detail. For instance, the swimmer, in action, is clearly less detailed than the young lad standing poolside. This implies that the eye should be comparing the two, landing on the detailed male in order to finalize analysis. As well, the background shows the Southern California flora in a wide array of detail, seemingly implying that we tend to take our surroundings for granted.
And therein lies the impression that this work of art has given to me. Having recently faced what I perceived to be death not just once, but four times in a row, has left me reevaluating my own existence. The young lad represents where I was prior to my NDE; staring at activity, ignoring detail, taking for granted the beauty in life all around me. Sure, some details of my "previous" life never really went unnoticed. But as I sit here breathing and thinking and feeling, I'm shocked at how my growing apathy and lack of believing that life was too precious have left me now having to heal, correct, grow, and learn.
If I were that young man by the pool, I'd be telling myself that doing more to better myself would mean that I would also get to pave the way for greater greatness. And I wouldn't stop there. Just beyond is a breathtaking view which this lad is ignoring. Thusly, I'd finish the one thought and then immediately move on to take in the vista. By doing that, I'd be allowing myself to inspire the hope within me to flourish while being reminded that though I am but one, insignificant person in this giant world, I am still a life that is too precious to waste.
