You'll Be Dead...

You'll Be Dead...

The rocks will
still be there.

You'll be Dead Soon...that's how the world works.  In the Elite Motivate video below, the speaker points out the reality that 100 years from now, you'll be gone, someone else will be living in your home (or it'll be gone and replaced), your cars will be in a junk yard, your kids will be old or gone, and your great-great-grandchildren won't know much of anything about you.  Chances are, no one else will remember you.  And...that's okay.  That's how the world works.  Our place in the world is small and temporary.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't live our best life...to the contrary, because it's small and short, it's a calling to live our best life...to choose that every day.    

Sit on them...take it
all in when you can.

The point in the video is that because all of it is so fleeting, it should be freeing.  Think about all of the things that currently have you stressed out...not one of those things will matter in 100 years.  Most of the worries you have are trivial when you zoom out the timeline perspective.  Mark Twain summed it up, "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened."  It's so easy to get wrapped up in the "small stuff," as the Don't Sweat It... series of books puts it.  I get it...today, when time is sitting on your shoulders, there are realities of paying the mortgage, getting that project done at work, and keeping up on the honey-do list.  But...I also get it...you'll be dead...soon...in the grand scheme of things.  

Climb on them.

There are not a ton of timeless things - God, nature, not much else comes to mind.  Even our human ancestors are mostly fleeting...the Egyptian Pyramids, maybe a few fossil-style footprints in New Mexico, a few finger paintings on a cave wall, not much else remains from the time before time.  Think about your work here on earth as an employee...how much would remain six months after you switched jobs?  There are file cabinets filling storage units of "stuff" that was generated, then the "new guy/gal" changed it when they came along.  It's been said our work lives are like a bucket of water...put your hand in there, when you pull it out, look for the hole that remains.  

Crawl up them. 

As a husband and father now, I've gotten (and try to embrace) the responsibilities of being an adequate protector and provider for our family.  I've stressed and fretted and chased the opportunities I thought that would best position our family for long-term success.  We've made decisions about jobs, homes, cars, lifestyles, and everything else that seemed monumental and critical in the moment.  In reality, when we zoom out to the 100-year marker...none of those really matter.  Which job we had, where we lived, which car we drove, and so forth...none of those really matter.  What might matter is how we raised our children, which values we passed on, and what habits and lifestyles our children embraced.  Perhaps, those things will get translated to their children, and their children's children.  

Look at them.

I remember a conversation with my dad several years back where he was reflecting on who he was at my age...and how my children and I would never know "that him."  He was no longer the flyfisherman, elk hunter, softball player, guy who could carry a backpack a long way to get just the right photo.  His youth was dead...sacrificed and killed off to become the provider for my mom and siblings.  We each make our own decisions, and we each have our own responsibilities that fall upon us in life.  My kids will never know "that man" who is now grandpa.  In thinking through it, I'd take off a lot of hats (line firefighter, parachuter, farm/ranch hand, military member, etc) by the time our children came around.  Those parts of me were long gone (dead) as a new me was born right alongside our children.  

Study them.

In thinking through this week's conversation, I think it's a reminder to put the right size and right direction, and focus our efforts on what will matter most.  It's easy to say in a vacuum here, without the "realities" of the situation.  I get that.  I also get that we can shut off the ball game and snuggle up to read with our children.  We can say "no" to guys' night and go do a campfire in the backyard.  We can forget that we'll be tired in the morning at work...and go camp out in the tree house.  We can say "no" to the new car upgrade and build the treehouse...so that we can learn skills together, bond...and have a place to go camping in the backyard.  Those things are very doable.  We can work in the little moments to not let our previous selves completely die off... Grandpa was a fisherman, Dad was a fisherman, so I should probably take our children fishing.  And...if you do it right...you can probably "see" those old men standing beside us while we drown a few worms in the creek...and that might be what it's all about.  

With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!

Call to Action: 

• Pick out a few changes you'll make today...that will change your family tree.
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of impacting the long lasting parts of life. 

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Elite Motivate Video