Monday, January 21, 2008

Augustine on Life

"Life is a poor thing, death may come at any time: if it were to come upon me suddenly, in what state should I depart this life? And where am I to learn the things I have neglected?" (109).

I truly believe in living life to its fullest potential at each given moment. Too many people spend their lives either dwelling on the past or planning for the future. Regrets are a waste of time; the past has already happened. Planning for the future is smart, but if you are always concerned with what is to come than you never live in the present. Augustine realizes that life is fleeting. He may be talking about the importance of uniting with God in order to meet with him in the afterlife, but this passage is also a reminder that the future is indefinite. It is important to be happy with yourself and the life you lead. My mom always tells me to do the best that I can every day. If you do what you believe is right at any given moment, regrets cannot be made, and each day will be lived in the "now."

2 comments:

Matt K. said...

I agree completely. To often people take their life and the many oppertunities at their disposal for granted. I try not to live like this and I believe that this post expresses this notion thoroughly.

Chris Sh said...

I agree with Kaylin that life is precious. Her post kind of reminded me of a short story I read in high school, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", by James Thurber. The theme of that short story is that you have to make the most out of your life. The story was about an old man who was looking back on his life and feeling sorry for himself because he thought that he never did anything great with his life. He was always afraid to go and take a chance and realize his dreams. I agree with Kaylin that we can't be afraid to take chances and live our lives to the fullest. No one wants to look back on their lives and think of all the things they could have done. I nominate Kaylin for blog of the week.