Sit down and think for a few minutes. What exactly is your purpose in life? Chances are, you are like most of us and want to go through the motions. Go to school. Get a job. Go to college. Graduate with a degree in (hopefully) something you enjoy. Get a better job. Marry the person of your dreams. Start a family. Work. Retire. Die. Rather basic, right? It's the 'American Dream' that made this country so popular all those years ago. When glanced over in such a manner like this, it doesn't sound very... Appetizing, if you will, does it?
What are you going to do to enjoy yourself? What are you going to do to make your existence here on this earth meaningful? Perhaps you enjoy sports and will keep that an aspect in your life for as long as you can by joining a baseball league or a fantasy football league. Maybe you enjoy a video game here and there and will run a game of Call of Duty or World of Warcraft once a day to keep yourself entertained. Perhaps you enjoy the field of cooking and will whip up a home cooked meal once a week to both entertain yourself and fill up your family.
These are all hobbies. They keep up happy and entertained in the mundane routine that we like to call Life. But what impact do they leave? How will it keep your name around? How will you leave a legacy on this earth for however long it will exist for?
Your answer may differ from mine. Perhaps just keeping yourself happy is enough. But in my humble opinion, keeping those who you surround yourself with happy, or even content, is the greatest thing in this world. You never know the impact that one word will have on a person. One act of kindness. One shoulder to cry on. One ear to listen.
Be there for your friends. I cannot stress this enough. Whether it be your best friend, your close friends, your casual acquaintances, your family, your significant other, or any mix of them- you need to be there for them in any way that you can. Perhaps a friend is having family problems. Give them an ear to vent to, or a shoulder to cry on. If you can relate, relay advice to them that helped you in a similar situation. Sure, it may not help 100%, but maybe that person will take one tidbit on information and run with it; solving their issue or helping them cope with it. Sure, there are many other situations that could arise, but always do what you think is best in the given one. Always try to help.
You get a call from a friend that is absolutely hysterical because of a fight with their significant other. They keep mentioning the thought of suicide and how they can't go on living their life. Be there for them NO MATTER WHAT. Listen to everything they have to say and be as positive as you can when trying to talk them out of the idea. (Suicide is rarely ever an answer. It is extremely selfish and brings extreme grief to those that care about you.) Perhaps they actually contemplated the idea and had the necessities to go through with it. Whether or not what you did for them, or said to them, saved them from going through with the idea, assume that it did. 25 years from now, the same person could have come up with a cure for a deadly illness. You never know what the repercussions of your actions, positive or negative, will be.
If you save one life. If you help one mood. If you brighten one day. If you change one frown...
Your.
Life.
Mattered.
Do whatever you can to brighten the days of those around you. Do whatever you can to positively influence those you care about. A selfless attitude can help so many people.
Peace, love, and respect.
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