About Living to Improve

    We are all mortals, bound in and to space and time. Since our beginning, we tried to fin ways around the "trappings" of time itself.

Ah, the concept of immortality. To live without fear of death. The freedom to achieve, do, and see all one desires to. A great temptation to any man.

    But, alas! it is not to be. Men far more intellectually, philosophically, and theologically advanced than myself (which isn't saying much, by any means), and likely my readers as well, have tried to become immortal.

    This idea is so prevalent in our culture, often found in religions, that is has invaded all areas of our entertainment, including movies, books, and songs.

    Think of the philosopher's stone, the fountain of youth, the holy grail, even some of our favorite shield-bearing superheroes.

    Those who have searched for immortality have found, and we, as a result, have learned, that it is, for now (especially if you are, like I am, a believer in a religion with an everlasting heaven after life on earth), a concept that we cannot reach.

    So, we rush. Because we all know we have an expiration date, but we don't have the luxury of knowing when we'll expire.

    We're always trying to get ahead, get everything done, complete all our unfinished work...

    We fail. We get further and further behind, because we don't finish all our work every day. It piles up, and each new day brings with it a generous helping of additional tasks. We go to bed each night thinking of all the jobs that have been left undone. All the stuff we'll have to tackle tomorrow.

    Chances are, you have ten plus things you need to be doing right now. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you took a well-deserved break.

    As the work piles up, our dreams are set aside. It's all work, but no success. We work to achieve our goals, but are stuck in a place where the closest we get is working towards them. They are buried under the chores, never realized, never achieved.

    Frankly, this is a destructive and wasteful lifestyle.

    But, a lifestyle is a choice. Sometimes it's an uneducated choice, or a choice from a hopeless spirit.

    I'm calling for individuals to do what is best for them and their families. Break out of the nine to five, get older in a wiser manner, and don't waste what portion of your life remains.

    Of course, the choice is yours, and there may be some people out there to whom this lifestyle is bliss.

    But not to me.

    I'm a seventeen-year-old guy from small-town Iowa with big dreams.

    Recently, I've been up close and personal with man's mortality multiple times in a wide variety of ways. I lost both of my grandpas within a year, both of whom I was very close to. My childhood is ending. I've got a year left with my amazing cross country team. I'm entering my prime, and there is proof everywhere that it won't last forever. My truck, which was a gift, just became, shall we say, dangerously faulty. I'm job hunting, because after I graduate, I move out. I don't have much money saved up, and this all points to one thing.

    I'm growing up. Getting older. Though (hopefully) I'm still decades away, I'm getting gradually nearer to my own expiration date.

    No matter our age, we're all in the same boat, or, as my brother would say, "We're all eating from the same pineapple."

    Since we're only going to live once, let's make the most of it. Live boldly. Get yourself out there. Unbury those dreams and set about making them reality. Don't be stupid about it, by which I mean, "don't quit your day job." Live the life you want to live (in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations 😉).

    This is how I intend to grow up. Put in the leg work and live my life. I'll be back soon with ideas, prompts, and examples from my life on how to live a healthy, successful life of your own.

        -Living to Improve

            Benjamin