Today would have been my mother’s birthday and this year I feel like celebrating her life as opposed to remembering she left too early. In fact, I just feel like celebrating life in general!
So in honor of my mother’s life and how awesome life is, I will share with you an activity I just did with one of the fabulous teenagers I work with.
Recently, said fabulous teenager was approaching a planned death date she had selected a year ago as the day she would take her life. As the date became closer she was apprehensive as to how she would respond to the day. She has come a long, long way since planning that date, but still it loomed and with it, her concern.
To acknowledge its passing, we decided to celebrate after the date by each coming up with a list of the reasons to live. We multiplied my favorite number with her favorite number and we had to come up with 60 reasons of why life rocks. It was a quite a list and it was fun!
We shared our lists with each other a few days ago and I have to say , not only was it a great experience to write the list and focus on all the good, but to share with someone with 23 less years of experience than I do and discover we all have way more in common in our perspectives when it comes to appreciating life than we don’t, was very cool. I will be doing this same activity with my own kids and can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Without further ado, I share our favorites from our lists. Can you tell which belongs to who? I even changed up the order. 🙂
Food. Food is awesome. Every flavor teaches us something about what we are drawn to and what to steer away from.
Kids. You can raise another version of yourself and love and care for it.
Clear, starry nights. A reminder that the world is so much bigger than we see.
Laughing. Nothing feels better than a big, belly laugh.
Falling in love. Love is so amazing and a crazy feeling.
Family. You can’t always choose them, but you can choose what role they play in your life.
Quotes. They are something I can relate to.
Friends. Trusting in another is like finding a second version of yourself that doesn’t make you feel crazy when you talk to it.
Be a Role Model. Knowing someone looks up to you.
Hugs. Connecting to people feels good. Unity feels awesome.
Dance Team. They are my family, my support, my girls.
Fall leaves. The reminder that change is inevitable and transition can be beautiful.
High School Reunion. I can show them that THEY WERE WRONG.
Cars. Much faster than a horse and keeps you dry in the rain.
Making someone smile. I feel happy that I made someone feel good.
Rainbows. Nature’s way of saying there is always hope.
Moonlight. The light that beams through darkness without expectation of being turned off.
Fireflies. Because they are magical bugs.
Make someone proud. It is the best feeling in the whole world.
Honesty. People are drawn to honesty and the truth. You speak it and they will listen.
What are your reasons to live?