Are You Living or Simply Existing?

Every morning I sit out in my yard drinking coffee and watching birds. I do not gulp my coffee down nor do I rush through any of my morning activities. My phone is left in the trailer; it’s too easy to get sucked into the hollowness of social media or the news which seems increasingly bombastic and sensationalized. I believe that to truly enjoy life you need to spend time in nature, even if you’re just out in the yard watching and listening to birds.

Here’s a good question to ask yourself: Are you living or simply existing? Is your day to day life something you would choose or something that you feel was forced on you? Could you say to a stranger “I have a good life” and mean it? If not, what would you change?

Life is not about enjoyment, Izaak, it’s about meeting responsibilities and obligations.

Why? Why do we accept that? This is our one and only life and it is falling behind us one day at a time.

Am I living or simply existing?

I remember when I first asked myself that question; it was in Portland and I was stuck in rush hour traffic. Unknown to me in that moment, it was the beginning of a journey that has lasted eight years so far which I have detailed in the three American Outback books. The man stuck in traffic was unhappy: He lived in a city with traffic jams, worked a job he disliked, and was getting deeper and deeper in debt. My then wife and I worked hard but we were struggling to make ends meet and each paycheck was crucial. In the end, the stress played a role in the implosion of our marriage and the loss of everything we had worked towards—everything aside from the debt, of course; debt never dies easy, it is something that takes a thousand blows to vanquish.

The transition from existing to living can be daunting, especially when you have debt. Don’t overwhelm yourself, take small steps. In a previous blog I explained that one step for me was stopping to watch birds on my way to work. When it comes to money, a lot of people I know buy coffee on the way to work. Let’s say each coffee is $3 which adds up to $15 a week or $60 a month. Saving $60 a month isn’t going to solve your issues with debt, but it’s a step in the right direction. Don’t make changing your life for the better one immense change, make it a thousand tiny changes.

Are you existing or simply living? If it’s the former you don’t have to accept it. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I shared a visualization exercise about how I see my life in three years? Write your own. Imagine where you live and what you do day to day. Set it five years in the future, you can accomplish just about anything in five years. Stop living for the approval of others, even our loved ones can smother us with expectations—this is your one life, I think it’s about time you figure out how to live it and not just endure it.

Here is where you can find the American Outback series and my other books:

https://author.amazon.com/books