I swear, if I get one more "Oh, I wish I'd kissed the dog more, danced naked while everyone was watching, and turned off the TV" inspirational email, I'm going to scream.

I mean no offense to those who send them to me. Yes, yes, I can totally appreciate your new found lust for the simple, good things in life. Yes, I totally agree with all of the sentiments in The Daffodil Principle and If I Had My Life to Live Over. In fact, I've been trying to live deliberately, suck the marrow from the bones of life, have peak experiences, seize the day, etc., all my life. Where have you been?

I suppose I'm fortunate that I've been a sensitive observer of the human condition for quite some time. I figured out very early that:

A) Life is cool.

B) Most people are too busy being dumbasses to enjoy life.

C) Older people are miserable and full of regrets because they spent too much time doing what was "expected" and not what was meaningful throughout their lives.

D) People who are dying, or who are watching someone they care about die, don't give a monkey crap what their car costs, whether the laundry is done, what their co-workers think, what's happening on "Fraser" or "Friends," or what's on sale.

***

"If you only had 2 hours to live, who would you call, what would you say,
... and why are you waiting?" - author unknown

***

Billy Dean said it back in 1990 :

"Gonna hold who needs holding,
Mend what needs mending,
Walk what needs walking, though it means an extra mile;
Pray what needs praying,
Say what needs saying,
'Cause we're only here for a little while."

***

I heard a lot of talk after 9/11 about how people "figured out what's important," stopped spending so much money on designer mint tins and Pokemon cards, sales went up at home improvement and arts & crafts stores, money poured into charities, people gave blood, etc.

Strangely, my life didn't change one iota after 9/11.

When The Matrix came out, I thought the movie was lame. But then, its whole "gee, reality isn't what you think it is - wake up!" philosophy was old news to me. So, when you aren't busy having a deep spiritual realization, you can appreciate just how bad Keanu's acting really is.

But it took the massive carnage of 9/11 for many people to really get the message that life is precious, all too short, we shouldn't take things for granted, etc. And now I am constantly being sent these "inspirational" email.

There was once a woman who led a quilting group on a military base near where I lived. She was quoted in a newspaper interview as saying, "Quilting makes the time fly by." To which my friend, Rob, added, "Until what? Until you DIE?"

Of course, if you absolutely love quilting, then do it. But, he was making a point. People are so busy trying to be busy. And why? To avoid their own, inner selves, their own mortality, their own shortcomings and failures?

I believe it's because they want to avoid the Void. The "God-Shaped Hole" in their hearts. The empty place that dogs our every step, that we try to fill with so many pairs of shoes, so many lovers, so much fast food, so much quilting ...

***

A shattered nation longs to care about stupid bullshit again.

***

Here's my advice to you: Every day, every moment, every situation in life, ask yourself, "What would I do if I knew I would die tomorrow?" And then DO IT. Do not create regrets. Live knowing that you are doing the best you can - and don't compare yourself to other people. Be forgiving of your own shortcomings, because self-criticism creates an endless cycle of paralyzation.

To quote Nietzsche: Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?

To quote Nike: JUST DO IT.