I was the fool always getting ready to live but never living — until now.
For years I wanted to visit Bryce Canyon in Utah to see the unique spires of stone, watch the light and shadows change as the sun rose, and hike the iconic trails. I had high hopes for the amazing photos I would capture, but I never went. A paradox made more vexing because I lived just a day’s drive from the National Park.
So why didn’t I go? One simple reason, I was waiting for the perfect time. But the problem with waiting is there never is a perfect time. I could have packed up and gone over a weekend, but I didn’t because that would not have given me enough time to see and do all I wanted to. So I didn’t go at all, and I experienced nothing. The point is now more acute because I live 8,000 miles away and may have missed my opportunity to ever see that fantastic sculpture by nature.
The Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca said that the fool is “… always getting ready to live.” Well, that was me. I was the fool always getting ready to live but never living. Dreaming about my next adventure but not leaving the house. Waiting for the perfect convergence of time, weather, and circumstance to finally go, but never actually going. I procrastinated, always assuming there would be a better tomorrow. Now I am on the far side of the world, and the opportunity to visit Utah is gone.
We are not guaranteed endless opportunities in life. Instead, we need to see each favorable occurrence as a one-time event to be seized or lost.
I now live in New Zealand. Moving here to live and work is something I had thought about doing ever since my wife and I visited Australia twenty years ago. We talked about making this move, but we didn’t because I had a good job, family, friends, commitments, and many other reasons. I would love to say that I realized this opportunity was slipping away and answered its pull before it was too late, but that is only half true. The reality is that my “good” job had become not-so-good, which provided the push that finally made me move. If it hadn’t been for hamfisted management, I might still be in Colorado, not visiting Bryce Canyon.
Instead, I’m in New Zealand and determined not to make the same mistakes. My family and I have been here for about a year, and we have settled into work and school, made friends, and traveled extensively. We bungy jumped off a bridge over a glacier blue river, overnight sailed on the fiords, skied, hiked, rode in a helicopter onto a glacier, visited Māori people and learned about their culture, explored major cities, and still have so much planned. In one year, we have seen most of the two main islands. So why is it that we were able to do all this in so little time?
The reason is simple; I don’t know how long I will be in New Zealand. My work visa is open-ended, so I could stay here indefinitely, but it’s also possible something could happen, and we would be back in the states. Because I am always aware that my time in this country may be limited, every opportunity feels pressing. I am always mindful that each opportunity to do something might be my only chance. So I plan to see what I most want to see and have been knocking items off that list at every opportunity.
I previously assumed that if the timing wasn’t “perfect, “ a better time would come along. Now that I fear my time may be limited, I feel the opposite way; better to go now rather than risk missing out, and if a better opportunity arises, I can go back. It now dawns on me that this is how I should have lived my life all along.
When I was foolish, I waited for the “right time” to do something. But what was the “right time?” I’m not sure I knew. So I made decisions based on circumstances not being “perfect.” That meant I was always searching for a reason not to go. I wasn’t looking for what was right, I was searching for what was wrong, and when I looked for the flaw, I could always find it.
Today the reason to go is just one; this might be the only change I get, so perfect or not, I’m seizing it. This attitude change made all the difference in how I plan my weekends and holidays and how I live in general.
Life is finite. You only get so many trips around the sun to accomplish what is meaningful to you, and then it is over — no do-overs or going back. When the opportunity is past, it is lost forever.
We procrastinate because we arrogantly assume that there will always be a tomorrow. We expect to receive another chance, but that is not assured. Nothing in this life is guaranteed other than the fact that we will all run out of time someday and that we can’t know what day that will be.
The fool waits for the right time to begin, while the wise man knows there may be no tomorrow, so the right time is today. Keep that in mind, and don’t be foolish. Instead, think of each opportunity you receive as a one-time offer. Take it now or lose it forever because there is no guarantee you will get a second chance. Once you make this shift in attitude, it will make a massive difference in how you approach and enjoy your life.
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