While browsing social media, I occasionally come across words or images that inspire me to write. This last week I came across some of the most powerful words I have read in a long time. They really resonated with me and made me reflect on life. The words were hidden in an Instagram comment section. For privacy purposes, I will not mention the account name, but below is a portion of the comment. It was made in reference to the concept of embracing minimalism, and collecting memorable experiences rather than material possessions:

The problem is when you forget that your life is ending one minute at a time, and you end up wasting so much of that precious time/energy… buying more material possessions…

The words “your life is ending one minute at a time” jarred me. They made an immediate impact. It felt almost as if someone had slapped me across the face and said “Wake up! The minutes are ticking away.” It gave me a sense of uneasiness, urgency, and renewed purpose, all at once.

As a lifelong optimist, I always look for the bright side or the lesson I can take from any situation or circumstance. The truth is, when I think about life and look ahead, all I see is potential. The idea that life is ending one minute at a time never even occurred to me. It may seem somewhat morbid, but indeed, from the moment we are born the countdown begins to the last day, whenever it happens to be. This made me reframe my perspective. What if Instead of thinking that we have our whole lives ahead of us, our focus was on how each minute equates to one minute less we have to live. Would this make us waste less time and be more present in each moment? Perhaps it would only serve to create added stress or pressure.

Clearly we cannot and do not spend every second of our lives engaged in “the moment.” But are there things we can do now that will make us later feel that we, indeed, made an effort to design and live a life we are satisfied with or even proud of? Below is an excerpt from “The 5 Decisions ~ That Can Transform Your Life” which relates to this:

Engaging in daily activities which help us think about and take action… will ensure that our attention is in the right place. Similar to focusing the delicate lens of a camera on the amazing image we wish to capture, we must clearly focus our attention on the things we want to capture and to become part of our life experience. We must “zoom in” on the things we most want and keep our attention there until we get it.

Perhaps I need to take my own advice and do things that will regularly make me “zoom in” on those things that matter most to me. What matters most to you? Are you “zooming in” on those things? Tick, tick, tick.