4. We’re Not Here For a Long Time, We’re Here For A Good Time
I think many of us have something we can share that relates to this story and part of the purpose of this podcast is to validate those stories no matter how small or short or frivolous they may seem. We can all relate. The story that pops into my head right now related to this quote is my plan for the next chapter. I am currently planning an adventure and I am so looking forward to this adventure. I am looking forward to a different lifestyle, a lifestyle that takes me away from capitalism, the rat race of work, the expectations of being an adult (a working adult), and a member of society. Not that I want to be removed from society, but there are expectations that are put on us, ingrained in us since childhood that we are to be someone and do something other than who we are naturally and what we do naturally. When I repeat this quote to myself, it reminds me that we don’t have any idea how much time we have left. This isn’t a basketball game where we can look at the shot clock and know how much time we have left to shoot our shot. As we very well know, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Especially now, during the pandemic, mortality and life is on the news every single day, not just with COVID, but with the injustices and uprisings that have become mainstream news This life is precious. This life is the one thing that is yours, whether it feels like that or not. It is our responsibility to make it ours. Rather than focusing on what we have to do and realize what we choose to do. This quote centers us and lets us know that we need to focus on what gives us a good time and that’s what we should be doing every single time. Of course all of us have to do things we don’t want to do, that we feel we don’t have a choice to do. That might be a reality for some of us more than others. Understandably, some of us might have more freedom than others because of our situation, our age, or our location. I hope that all of us can come to a point in our lives that we realize we are in complete control. We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to do. We have been refusing to do things ever since we were able to pick up our heads. Whether we refused to be held in someone’s arms by crying or refused to eat by slapping the spoon down, or refusing to do homework we knew we had to turn in, or refusing to apply for a job someone wanted us to apply for. We don’t do anything we don’t want to do and the more we realize that’s within our power, the more free we become. Likewise, the things we really want to do, we find a way, not an excuse. For me, I love to travel. I love to travel not only because I love to see new things, but because when I was young, I traveled a lot. My mom worked for the airlines, which provided great family travel benefits. Although my family was never well off, we did not let that stop us from seeing the world. With every school break, I usually left the country with my mom. We usually stayed in some scuzzy borderline-appropriate youth hostel. We wanted to travel, we didn’t have much money to do so, plane tickets were pretty much already free. The point was to have an experience. We stayed away from tourists places and prioritized adventures to see and experience new things, things that will never be the same even if you saw them multiple times. There are mountains in the Philippines I will never see again because they’ve been turned into agricultural land or a metropolitan area. To me, nature is precious, especially in this time where we are exploiting the land even more. This time really prioritizes the fact that time is precious, the Earth is precious, and I want to see it immediately. I hope that you can keep this quote in mind and whatever brings you Joy, you do that NOW, like NOW, as soon as you stop reading this. That you plan to do it tomorrow and the day after, and the day after. That the only reason it changes, is that you include different people, but that you always always pursue your Joy and plan to elevate your Joy. That’s what makes us look forward to something, when we know that at a certain time we’re going to do a certain thing. We look forward to that, we focus on that and I hope that we all become focused on our Joy and our journey, and our good time.
How to Prioritize Having a Good Time
Determine what it means to have a good time and who you may want to include (if anyone)
Put a date on it. Seriously, make it a task or event that you and others know is non-negotiable
Prepare and make sure you have what you need so nothing can get in the way (ex. requesting a day off, getting the materials, making reservations, having someone hold you accountable)
Affirm to yourself that you deserve this, you’ve prepared for this, and nothing will ruin your good time
Do it already!
