You only live once.
From the moment when you gasp for your first breath of air, you’re dying. You are born into this world, this complicated mess of existence, crying and screaming as if you already knew it was only temporary.
The reality that death comes to us all exists every second of our lives, we’ve just become really adept at pretending like it’s not true. We make plans for the future. We party hard as if there were no long-term consequences. We live our lives always trying to better ourselves by performing psychological acrobatics that convince us there’s always a tomorrow.
Mantras like “you only live once” do more harm than good because they trivialize the consequences of risky behaviors. Not only that, but they almost glorify dying young, as if life didn’t really matter. Party, drink, take pills, smoke weed, drive fast, sleep around, get into fights: these are all attitudes that basically epitomize the “I don’t give a f*ck” movement of today’s youth.
You only live once, but I want to live as long as I can, as comfortably as I can.
I have a morbid obsession with death. I understand that one day I will no longer inhabit this planet. One day I just won’t be here. I’ll cease to exist. I know that but it’s still something I can’t truly comprehend. I’m terrified of it. I’ve been to enough funerals in my short life to understand how heartbreaking death can be. The pain of losing someone you love is indescribable. Now imagine how many people would be devastated if you were to never wake up again.
That thought runs through my mind almost every day. I worry about how I will be remembered. Maybe it’s narcissistic, maybe it’s false humility. All I know is that on the day I die, I hope people will remember me as someone who made their lives better.
Money or fame doesn’t motivate me and maybe that’s not a good trait. But I honestly believe that reaching out to someone and enriching their lives is by far the best thing you can do for someone else. I want there to be a line of people at my funeral who will honestly and wholeheartedly say, “Kevin helped me out in my time of need and he made my life that much better.”
Maybe it’s not good to constantly think about your funeral, but you only live once. This is the only shot at life I have to do something great with it. This is the only life I have to learn from my past failures and mistakes and correct them. This is the only life I have to love and be loved.
Whether that bell tolls for me tomorrow, or 60 years from now, my goal will always be the same. When I enter the realm of nonexistence I hope that those I’ve left behind will be that much better off because I had been a part of their lives. How do you want to be remembered?
