Every day do at least one thing, even briefly,
that is so meaningful and rewarding
that at the end of the day you can say with a whole heart,
“It was worth it to be alive this day.”
~ Alan Cohen
Wow. How’s that for some words to live by? This quote is very powerful and it kinda hit me in the gut, making me realize just how many days I absolutely waste. I don’t do something every day that makes me feel great to be alive. Like countless others, I just go through my days, the hum-drum ho-hum, the everyday routine that has become my life. I can’t really say that I can remember a day when I did something so extraordinary that it made me feel great to be alive.
But maybe it doesn’t have to be extraordinary. Maybe just doing little things, like being kind and loving, are all that is required to make one’s day worthy of being counted as a meaningful and rewarding day.
What do you think? What kind of things could one do each day that would make it “worth it to be alive?”
Angels Bark 
fantastic suggestion! we all should try it!
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This is a philosophy that I think I have long embraced. There is so much to learn and experience in life that it can almost be overwhelming when one embarks on the journey of discovery. I’m thankful for all the road years I had in show business that provided me with amazing opportunities that would have been difficult to have enjoyed if I had led a more sedentary life.
But even a seemingly humdrum life provides so many options. Raising my children and enjoying my job for 20 or so years was a rich time. Even now with my life more sedate and tied to home I enjoy the new things I find through reading, watching movies, and blogging.
In fact, blogging is almost like my years of traveling. Meeting so many people and learning so many new things while at the same time opening up discussions on my own blog in which others join is like actually being somewhere with in-person encounters. It’s an amazing virtual world.
Meeting new people, hearing new songs, trying new foods, and learning so many new things is a philosophy with which I heartily agree. Cohen got it right with this quote. I can’t understand those who don’t want to experience life. Sure, I tired too, but very rarely am I bored and when I feel bored that is the fault of some useless state of mind that imprisons rather than empowers me.
I want to live and do it with flair even if the flair is in my own mind.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
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I’ve always assumed you live a rich and rewarding life Lee. And you’re right, even just engaging in blogging, the virtual interaction can be as exciting as in-person encounters. There is so so much to this world and this life and it’s all there for the taking. We just have to be brave enough to step out of our comfort zones and venture into the unknown and in doing so, we will collect so many pearls of wisdom along the way.
I love Alan Cohen. He is a man of wisdom for sure and he’s very generous with it. i’ve met him through one of his workshops here in Austin. I’d love to take the one he does in Hawaii. That sounds magical and heavenly!
Very true what you say: boredom is a state of mind that can easily be altered.
Thanks for stopping by and thank you for the retweet! Much appreciated.
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Thought-provoking! I have days that seem uneventful and meaningless, but then again, some days are stellar! 😀 (Thinking of last Saturday, when we went to see one of my favourite bands, Steppenwolf, in Niagara Falls.) Michele, you and I are in the same business and don’t you think taking good care of other people’s dogs is meaningful and rewarding? That’s a regular occurrence, yes? So, we can feel good about that! Fits right in with being kind and loving, as you mentioned. 🙂 Lee also had a good point about the virtual world and all its fascinations.
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Ahh, how was my home town?? Were you on the Canadian side of Niagara? How was Steppenwolf?? I bet it was fabulous. GREAT city to see a show. Did you do anything else while you were there?
And yes, by all means I think that taking care of all the doggies is meaningful and rewarding, for sure. So that’s an everyday thing that we do. What I need more than anything is a decent vacation! I haven’t had a real vacation, one where you sit on a beach sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them in some exotic locale, since 2000!!! I think I’m really due one…
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It was on the Canadian side – Fallsview Casino. Yes, it was a great show. John Kay, even at 71 is still amazing and the band was excellent. 😀 It’s only a 45 minute drive, but we had to go straight home, because of the dogs. Taking care of them is always a pleasure, but they do restrict life in some ways.
Sounds like you are definitely due for a vacation, Michele. Hope you can find a way to take one.
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I think most of us do something everyday that is worthy of be rewarding but we don’t think of it that way. Smiling at someone and saying “thank you” or “have a nice day” could have just that other person over the moon. Walking the dog just made the dog feel great. I think watching a good movie that made us laugh or cry or just took our minds off something that happened that day is also rewarding. We need to view our life differently so we know it is meaningful
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Excellent points Birgit! Right on. I forget about smiling. I’m always smiling and saying Hi to people. And it does make me feel good! I just do it all the time that I didn’t even think about the fact that something so simple as a smile could really be meaningful to someone else. Good points!
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Excellent quote and one we all should live by. You’re right, whatever you do, doesn’t have to be something great….just rewarding. I have a note where I can see it every day to remind me to exercise, do something creative, and organize on tough spot in the house. Most days, I only get two of the three accomplished, and other days I do all three, then some. It’s good to try to remove the ho-hum from our routine and put a little zip (you decide what that zip is to be) into it instead!
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I like your note idea and those three items are good ones. I have those areas in the house that need work (like the garage) and I just can’t get motivated to do it because it’s so overwhelming. I need to just do a little bit each day — 10 – 20 minutes each day on the garage — and it would be done in no time! Thanks for the reminder. Now I’m going back to bed… (just kidding)…
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Wonderful quote, and a great mantra! I think about this all the time, about the senselessness of wasting days just going through the motions. I think every day that we make a difference in the lives of rescue animals, we’re kinda living up to this, though. But we could carpe diem even more! 🙂
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Amen to that Melissa! Carpe Diem, yes!! Thanks for stopping by…
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