Love the life that you are living
I’ve recently read an exceptional book: Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The synopsis of this book
is about a woman who wants to commit suicide as she is so unhappy with her life. As she falls
into unconsciousness, she is transported to a library. There are thousands of books, all
alternate lives that she could have lived. She wastes no time and starts “living” all of these other
lives. She ranges from being an Olympic swimmer to a waitress to a famous musician. In some
lives, her brother is dead, her father is alive and her best friend moves to Australia. As she
jumps between all of these different lives, it becomes apparent to her that no one life is perfect.
The choices that you make ultimately dictates the life that you are going to live and you have the
ability to make it the best one.
How often have you daydreamt about an alternate reality? Instead of sitting at your desk and
thinking about the afternoon commute back home, wouldn’t it have been nice to sit on a beach
in Mauritius? Or perhaps sip wine and eat a baguette whilst looking at the Eiffel Tower? How
often have you wished for more money, more time, more freedom, less weight around your
midsection? Have you ever once thought that each choice that you make has a lasting ripple
effect? Let’s say you did decide to jump on a plane to Paris after you finished high school. Here
you are, in the most romantic city on earth and it does not mean that you will magically be
happy for the rest of your life. Being happy in Paris and being happy in your apartment in
Pretoria is entirely up to you!
It’s so easy to wish for a different life, to mourn the lives we are not living. Instead of always
wishing for more or for different, wake up every day and start appreciating the life that you are
currently living. Enjoy your morning coffee, that tree outside your kitchen window, your dog’s tail
wag, your partner’s kiss. If you really dream of something different, work to make that your
reality. Do more yoga, work harder, love better, handle your finances better, start the band! It is
so easy to regret. Stop living in the past and take each day as a new opportunity to make THIS
life incredible!
We cannot expect to live a life filled to the brink with happiness, excitement, adventure and love
without having to deal with some of the more horrifying parts of life- death, financial strain,
disease. All of this, mixed up together, makes this life an incredibly humbling journey. God had
your whole life mapped out even before you were created in your mother’s womb. He knows the
plans that He has for you, and God always wants you to have a beautiful life. He wants you to
be happy, to thrive. It is up to you to keep making decisions that will give you that life. Not a life
filled with regret, but one that you can’t wait to wake up to in the morning! He has magnificent
plans for you- enjoy this gorgeous life.
“We don’t need to play every game to know what winning feels like. We don’t have to hear every
piece of music in the world to understand music. We don’t have to have tried every variety of
grape from every vineyard to know the pleasure of wine. Love, laughter and fear and pain are all
universal currencies. Will my life be miraculously free from pain, grief, heartbreak, loneliness?
No. But do I want to live? Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes!”
- Matt Haig