This quote is the reality-shift I needed to appreciate life more (and live my best life)
The joy of “waking up” to come alive.
Life is lost by a thousand small uncaring ways.
Poet, short story writer, and novelist Stephen Vincent Benét said that. He thought, “Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.”
I am merely going through the motions until I “wake myself up” to all the experiences around me. That’s what I told myself the first time I came across Benét’s wisdom.
It’s one of those truths that’s so obvious but so easy to forget.
The real tragedy of life is how we let it slip away minute by minute without even noticing. We get so caught up in routines, distractions, and obligations that we don’t even notice how much life passes us by.
“First I was dying to finish high school and start college.
And then I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then I was dying to marry and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work.
And then I was dying to retire.
And now, I am dying… and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.” ― Anonymous
