Fear not beautiful reader, I am not going to dive deep into a philosophical discussion about meaning of Life (maybe). I feel that plenty philosophers and “gurus” have done so before me, many yet will, and quite frankly — to each its own. But let me ask you this — what do we know about life? I mean aside from what we learned from books, movies and TV shows, what our parents, culture and society have taught us? Aside from setting goals of prosperity and success, whatever that may look like to each of us individually?

You see, when you strip away the chase for material possessions — great car, house, high-paying job, big screen TV, latest phone, clothes and accessories. When you strip away chase for happiness, successful relationship, marriage, kids, pets and a fish-tank full of exotic fish. When you take away concerns for the world peace, poverty, saving the planet… What is left?

All those things I listed above are something we chose to believe in at some point in our lives and we did so by observing the world around us. However, take away all that — what is the point of life and living? And I’m not asking this from a pessimistic or depressed, nearing suicide point of perspective. I am curious. Because with all those things, or rather with having them, comes the fear of losing them and/or the negative feeling of not having them. That’s the way I was taught anyway. But from my observations, so were the majority of people. And I am tired of that fearful feeling lurking deep beneath the surface of my existence. Oh yes, I’m sure psychologists would say that a “healthy” dose of fear is good for you, it protects you and can fuel one’s actions, and a drive for better life. But how do we know what is the “healthy dose” of fear and what is this “better life”?

Again, to each its own and personally I have discovered that having a high-paying job, nice car, model family and house with a white picket fence in fact is not a point of life. Because once you achieve it, then what? Do you just say “Okay, I’m done here, time to go”? No, because as mentioned earlier, with having achieved something, most of us fear losing it or simply move onto achieving something else, staying with the chase for that rainbow unicorn. Even with the life itself, we cling to it not wanting to die, not wanting to let go. And if you ask someone who is facing death — why do you want to live? Sometimes the answer would be “because I have the family and can’t just leave them” or “because I’m still young”, or “because I haven’t seen the world and experienced everything that it has to offer”, or…

Wait what? You want to experience life? Bingo! There, at the very core of existence lies the truth. And for some reason we tend to need extreme situations to see it. Ever watched the movie “Bucket List”? That’s what life is all about, — experiencing it. However you want to, however you choose to — it’s your life after all. Not your parents’, not your children’s, neither your neighbor’s, spouse’s, lover’s, nor friend’s. Your life, your choices and by owning it, you get to experience it to the fullest. Admittedly, it does feel more harmonious, if we do so mindfully. And really, there is no point in waiting for something extreme to happen, no point in getting caught up in “what ifs”, nor living in the past (our mind cannot really distinguish between a memory, daydreaming and an actual experience). So… why not experience life now? However it comes at you and in all its painful, sometimes beauty. Make mistakes, fall in love and fall out of it, change jobs, countries to live in, or don’t — it is all up to you! You are life.

As one character in an incredibly mind-blowing movie said, — “Life was given to us a billion years ago — now you know what to do with it.”