Have you ever seen a type of notebook which looks like a book, but with blank pages? Let’s suppose this book is our life. Each of us is handed this book when we are born. It contains about 100 pages. A year of life equals a page. If you’ve tried your best you might have some extra pages after a 100th page or so. But on average a life of a human being covers even fewer than that – only about 80 pages. However, let’s suppose there are about 100 pages by default in this book of life. And we are the authors of it. Each year of life equals each page, each week equals each line and each day equals a word. Once you have written something in this book then it’s forever there, you cannot erase it and write something different. Once you’ve written a line or a page then it’s forever fixed. And the pen is responsibility.
But do we always hold the pen? And if we are honest with ourselves, not always do we do actually. Not always are we the holders of this pen to write in our own book. To one extent or another, we give the pen to somebody else to write something in our novel of life for us. Why do we do it? And the reason for that is simply fear. Fear of writing something wrong. Fear of making a mistake, fear of not being approved by the readers. Fear of being humiliated or ridiculed by them. Or whatever other fear we might have. Not only do we give this pen to someone we know, but also sometimes to random strangers. And most of the time we don’t like what other people write on it, we criticize them for what they have put on it because judging other writing is much easier than being the actual writer. Because once you’ve got the pen and you use it it’s impossible to criticize anyone, because it’s, clearly, you who the holder of this pen.
And even if it’s you who really holds the pen, most of the time it’s not really a pen, but colouring markers, because it’s easier for you to hold a colouring marker rather than a pen. And the reason for that is that holding a pen takes courage. But what do you do with it? Do you write your life story consciously? Try to enrich it with some meaning? Or do you, basically, write fluffy content with those colouring markers?
In addition, we let our book be affected by different life circumstances and conditions, like the weather, dust, spilt coffee, tobacco smoke, stains. Not always do we take enough care of this book whereas each page, each blank spot on each page is precious. You might not be handed this treasure again once you’ve scribbled on all the pages.
Year after year blank pages are shrinking. Week after week blank lines on the page are shrinking. But how many blank pages are approximately left? Day after day we keep asking ourselves the same questions, “What should I do with my life?”
And the answer is, basically, as simple as that. GET THE PEN AND BECOME THE AUTHOR OF YOUR LIFE… And not tomorrow, not on Monday, not when you are in a good mood, not when the right moment comes, but RIGHT NOW…
Take the pen firmly. Take the full ownership of your life. And start creating your life. Nobody is able to do it for yourself. Asking for advice skilled authors is a good thing, but don’t rely on it too much. Eventually, It’s only you who knows how to create it best. Don’t think too much about where the book came from. Don’t think too much about what it is for. Don’t think about the plot of your story too much, because while you’re thinking you’re running out of precious pages. Because not only are you the author, but you’re also the actor. And the job of an actor is to, mainly, act. Don’t think your life away.
The most important thing is this, maybe, the first-and-last unique opportunity you have with this book and pen. To create and live your story. So make the most of it, but in a conscious and ecological way, because otherwise, it will backfire.
And when you are on the verge of finishing your book, when the last pages are being counted down, wouldn’t it be nice to say something like,
“Well, it’s been a long journey. Life sometimes was difficult. Sometimes, it was ridiculously difficult. Occasionally, I was completely stuck, experienced severe creative blocks and guilty of so many times being tempted to quit my novel by writing those final 6 letters.
But I managed to get through it in spite of all the temptations, obstacles, struggles and challenges and not to lose myself. In fact, those very difficulties to an extent helped me become myself, they made me who I am. I learnt how to write. I made so many mistakes, sometimes I just completely messed up my novel, but only through those harsh mistakes did I become a masterful writer. I learnt to take mistakes neutrally, learnt to take advantage of them and tried not to repeat them in future.
It’s not a perfect book. It’s true. There are some parts of it I’m not really proud of. But, you know, no book is perfect. The more complicated your life is, the more amazing you’re gonna feel later if you get through all of that because it will feel like you did something really impossible, which will inspire you to do more incredible things.
I tried to live it from my heart. I’ve put my heart and soul into this book. I’ve said everything I wanted. And it was tremendously hard to write the truth because not everyone wants to hear it. Therefore, books like that oftentimes are not marketable and best-selling. However, by trial and error, I managed to reach the hearts of, although relatively small, but like-minded and sympathetic audience of mine. And I’m delighted if my book has somewhat influenced somebody in a positive way. And I’m happy if it will for some decades in the future to come.”
However, it’s not about fame and recognition, because, in the meantime, our novel might not get through 1000 years or 10 000 years or 100 000 years or more because, essentially, it’s all just a game which you shouldn’t take too seriously, but which you should play as seriously as possible. And it’s not really the stages and the aims that matter. What really matters is the journey of life itself, not the destination. You really live life when you live it, savouring each moment of it, otherwise, you’re sleeping, although not being in bed, although walking and working, although with your eyes wide open. You’re, basically, a sleepwalker. You’re sleeping and wasting those precious moments and days that can never get returned. Let’s have a look at our calendar. What date is it today? Tomorrow it’s gone. We will never live this same day again.
We really live when we live. When we are fully awakened. And it’s never too late to start getting awakened. Even if you have messed your life up, even if you didn’t start it right. It doesn’t matter how you began your life. What matter is how you finish it.
As regards our life destination it’s always going to be questioned. For ages, we’re trying to figure out the ultimate meaning of our life. We’re trying to come up with the right title for our book. But the thing is that you cannot know for sure what the title of your book of life will exactly be until you finish writing it.