2008 Woodie Awards
Live and breathe as much life as you can
Brett Carmichael
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Opinions
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It's not everyday that one finds themselves contemplating the many intricacies of this thing we come to know as life, but today I was reminded how special it is to have breath.
Yesterday, I had a short conversation with my grandmother, and what we talked about wasn't really as important as her response to when I asked her how she was doing. "I'm still breathing," she uttered in the faintest of voices.
At that point I was taken back, because it once again reaffirmed that I am caught up in life rather than living life.
It confirmed to me there are no second chances, because tomorrow is never promised. It confirmed to me that maybe I shouldn't be so upset about such a high cell phone bill because there are several people in this world who may only have contact with friends and relatives every four or five years, if at all.
It confirmed to me that I should always strive to get the best grades possible and show up to class, because somewhere in this world, a child suffers from deprivation of knowledge.
It confirmed to me that maybe I shouldn't get offended when the workers at Erbert and Gerbert's put tomatoes on my sub after I specifically said, "NO TOMATOES," when I ordered.
There are several impoverished human beings who would love to eat a tomato, and besides, tomatoes are good for you, so what is the complaint?
We definitely are living in a land full of opportunities. What we fail to comprehend is, there are others in far worse scenarios than we are, and yet those individuals are more in touch with living life instead of being consumed by it.
They are the individuals who can make a penny last.
They are the people who would share their limited rations of food with a stranger in dire straits.
They are the persons who wouldn't even think twice about skipping a class, because missing one class would be like missing out on a much-needed meal they haven't had in a week.
Everything here may be dubbed as cliché by critics, saying "Tell me something I don't already know."
I say to them, PROVE ME WRONG!
The phrase my grandmother spoke, "I'm still breathing," is much more than its literal connotation.
To breathe means to have purpose.
To breathe means to understand that we should all be constant learning vessels.
To breathe means first impressions are everything, because that may be the only telling possibility.
To breathe means to remember somebody somewhere has it worse than you.
Finally, to breathe means to live your life, and not let your life live you.
I am reminded of this anonymous quote: "When you were born, you were crying, and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and everyone around is crying, not of death, but rather of the impact and contributions you had that inspired."
Yesterday, I had a short conversation with my grandmother, and what we talked about wasn't really as important as her response to when I asked her how she was doing. "I'm still breathing," she uttered in the faintest of voices.
At that point I was taken back, because it once again reaffirmed that I am caught up in life rather than living life.
It confirmed to me there are no second chances, because tomorrow is never promised. It confirmed to me that maybe I shouldn't be so upset about such a high cell phone bill because there are several people in this world who may only have contact with friends and relatives every four or five years, if at all.
It confirmed to me that I should always strive to get the best grades possible and show up to class, because somewhere in this world, a child suffers from deprivation of knowledge.
It confirmed to me that maybe I shouldn't get offended when the workers at Erbert and Gerbert's put tomatoes on my sub after I specifically said, "NO TOMATOES," when I ordered.
There are several impoverished human beings who would love to eat a tomato, and besides, tomatoes are good for you, so what is the complaint?
We definitely are living in a land full of opportunities. What we fail to comprehend is, there are others in far worse scenarios than we are, and yet those individuals are more in touch with living life instead of being consumed by it.
They are the individuals who can make a penny last.
They are the people who would share their limited rations of food with a stranger in dire straits.
They are the persons who wouldn't even think twice about skipping a class, because missing one class would be like missing out on a much-needed meal they haven't had in a week.
Everything here may be dubbed as cliché by critics, saying "Tell me something I don't already know."
I say to them, PROVE ME WRONG!
The phrase my grandmother spoke, "I'm still breathing," is much more than its literal connotation.
To breathe means to have purpose.
To breathe means to understand that we should all be constant learning vessels.
To breathe means first impressions are everything, because that may be the only telling possibility.
To breathe means to remember somebody somewhere has it worse than you.
Finally, to breathe means to live your life, and not let your life live you.
I am reminded of this anonymous quote: "When you were born, you were crying, and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and everyone around is crying, not of death, but rather of the impact and contributions you had that inspired."