Existing or Living?

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of my favorite writers of all time is Ralph Waldo Emerson. This past week for introducing transcendentalism to my class, my intern played a video for the class that I just couldn't help but to love and steal myself. I have the video attached below for those interested in viewing it but it closes with the question are we living or simply existing our life?

I have recently read a few things, mostly from other moms, who feel overwhelmed, defeated, exhausted, possibly depressed and a little lost. It is easy in our busy lives to just keep going through the motions. Work, chores, routines, wash, rinse, and repeat. I have found myself lost in these motions at different times in my own journey; I also feel that they're the same points where I start to feel down, depressed, and doubtful. But way before I ever saw this video the question of living or existing has existed in my mind for as far back as I can remember. People's lives are cut short every day. I don't understand it and I can't change it, but we can all  honor their short lives by living rather than existing in our own.

Here my personal principles of living my life rather than just existing in it:

Make up my own rules and live by them

Don't take myself too seriously

Listen to music as much as possible

Travel, travel, and travel some more

Explore the beauty of nature as much as I possibly can

Turn the music up and randomly dance often

Do a job I enjoy but don't let it run my life

See family as often as possible

Spend time with good friends

Get outside every chance I get

Read a good book often

Write for me or my girls or whoever

Sleep under the stars

Take risks and don't be afraid of failure

Do something even when maybe I shouldn't

Act like a kid as often as possible

Even when I'm too old for something do it anyway

Laugh and love every day with my family

Fall in love and later in life fall in love with each other all over again


What would be your principles for living your life rather than just existing? Put them in the comments. I'm sure I'll probably steal some for my own principles for living life list.


Living or Existing Video


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