The go-to mantra with the versatility of a white crocheted blanket.
It cushions our fall once we have realized the consequences of our actions... Life is too short- Live with no regrets.
It softens the blow of an offensive comment, a nasty act or the weight of disappointment that falls on your shoulders when you have been let down... Life is too short- hold no grudges, forgive and forget, let it go.
It dulls the echoes of societal standards... Life is too short to be a lesser version of yourself.
The metaphorical security blanket that it is, it encourages you to take a step further, to speak a little louder, to be a little braver.
I assume that I'm not the only one who has failed to question the origin of this phrase. Just so you know, some etymological sites suggest that is has been quoted from as early as the seventeenth century.
"Life is too sh'rt, mateth, but so is thy penis".- Something that was probably never said in the seventeenth century.
It is a versatile line that has been adopted by most common folk, the advice given in haste when comfort is sought, a phrase that is rarely doubted or questioned, the justification to any action that is otherwise not advisable.
Albeit there being an element of truth to it, the line in itself is very subjective. I often ponder exactly how long man would like to live for, in the case whereby he considers his predetermined lifespan to be somewhat insufficient. Would he say that life is short at 80 years old?
Life is short for those who are taken away from us too soon. It is their untimely death that gives us the impression that life is short, and reminds us about the sheer unpredictability that is the sister of fate.This is not the motto of the dead, it is the belief of the living who were not ready to see them go.
We say life is short when we actually mean that life is unpredictable. Your life story could stop mid-sentence. We are unaware of which waking moment is our very last. This is the subtle reminder that we are not allowed to take life for granted.
Yes, LIFE IS VERY UNPREDICTABLE, but to me, life is far from short. I believe that we are given enough time to serve our purpose and to live our best life. It does not make sense to allocate a general duration to something that can barely be estimated.
It is due to this unpredictability that makes life a rat race. Get off your butt and do as much as you can! Quick! Get educated, fall in love, have a family, make that paper, build an empire. Its just you against time.
I must admit, this post went in a completely different direction from what I intended. My initial thought was about how when times are bad, life is a never-ending stretch. Things fall apart, the feeling of hopelessness never goes away and then somehow everything works against you. You begin to wonder, is it an odd stroke of bad luck, or is this a life-long curse?
When you're exhausted from trying and trying and you realise that life is not for everyone, the biggest lie that you will hear are those three words. Life. Is. Short. It irks you when someone uses those words as motivation to live your life to the fullest, when in fact you wish that life really WERE short and then will for it to happen. Evidently y'all are not on the same page in life, yet alone book, or category.
So in a popcorn husk, that was what this post was meant to be about.
I think that I prefer it that this post turned out this way. An independent outlook is mutually beneficial as opposed to a personal post that has been contaminated with negativity.
But I will always be a firm believer of one thing- Life is NOT short. It is merely unpredictable.
The real mystery is how much time you have left, the real challenge is making the most of it, because at any given time, your clock could just stop.
