Remember that great line from the movie Shawshank Redemption? It's when Andy says, "I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying."
That quote packs a punch when you really stop to think about it. It's easy to brush it off, however, and think it really has nothing to do with us. That's for others, not me. However, there are several ways to die. Some are slow, not quick. And some are figurative, not literal.
It seems to me that if we're busy focusing on the past and all the grudges, hurts and missed opportunities that have accumulated over the years, that's a slow way to die. We're not really alive and present to the time and opportunities right in front of us. If we're completely focused on all the negative things around us (and these days, it seems easy enough to do that because there's so much animosity out there), we're not savoring and enjoying the present time either. Some would say that's not quality of life. We've lived another day. But is that how we want to spend our lives? And if we give up on goals because they're just too hard to reach or nothing good ever seems to happen for us, that too seems more like dying than really living.
So you see, there's much more to Andy's quote than what might meet the eye. And it seems a good thing to ask ourselves from time to time: Am I busy living? Or am I busy dying?
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