#Trust30 15 Minutes to Live

15 Minutes to Live by Gwen Bell: “We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.
1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

Chasing dreams. That’s essentially all I’ve done so far. I’ve chased dreams that always seem to elude me — sometimes by mere steps. All too often, I’ve fallen into the same rut most average Americans settle for each and everyday. The 8-to-5 rat race, spinning the wheel, chasing the cheese, and doing what The Man tells you to do. I dream of something more. If in the next 12 minutes I cease to exist, I’m going out with regrets of things I haven’t done. Dreams I haven’t achieved. Enjoying each and every day to the fullest. Don’t make that mistake. Make your life worth living. Find joy in the simpler things. Don’t settle. NEVER settle. Life isn’t perfect, and it never will be — but that’s no excuse for thinking negatively. Playing the victim won’t win you sympathy for ever, nor will it change the situation. If you don’t like something, do what you can to change it. Please be advised that this is not applicable to people. People have to want to change in order to change. Nothing you say or do will make them. Also, a wise woman once told me that you can teach people a lot of things, but you can’t teach someone to care. You either care or you don’t. It’s in your best interests to be one of the ones who cares, though. The ability to care makes you stronger.

Don’t just chase dreams. Take steps to reach them. Don’t cry. Don’t whine. Just do. Get it done, even if you’re not getting paid for it. Do what you love. Do what inspires you. Practice your passions. Quit worrying about what everyone else thinks because it’s all arbitrary in the end. We’re all going to meet the same fate, so we might as well live our lives with gusto. Make time to be unaccountable, too. The saying about all work and no play absolutely holds true. Working all the time leaves very little time to enjoy hobbies and interests. Passions become burdens if we’re always working. There’s no reason why you can’t sip some tea on the porch or lounge in the hammock. Just let it go. Again, it’s all arbitrary. And make sure to smile and laugh often. We’re not meant to function on angry mode all the time, nor are we meant to function on anxiety all the time. How is that a life worth living? Stressing yourself into an early grave? Just let it go already! It’s just complications we’ve created for ourselves. No other species creates such complicated procedures to go through their lives. We’re unique.

And with my final three minutes, I want to remind you that we need love. Love your family. Love your friends. Love for the sake of loving. Love is a necessity in life. Loving and caring are both very important. And of course, love yourself. No one else knows you the way you know yourself.