If you ever had the chance to relive life would you hope someone would hand you a manual of life to guide you through the ropes, or would you prefer taking a leap of faith?
That was a question thrown at me, and truthfully, I was pretty unsure of how to answer such a question seeing that my opinion might differ concerning aspects of my life where I might desire a manual as a guide and other aspects where I might just want to dive into the deep and see what lies in store.
You see, life, indeed, has no formula. What works for one might be inapplicable to another. We all get to figure things out as we take each day in strides. I had come to accept a vital fact as I reflected on my younger years when I was quite opinionated on every topic under God’s green earth. But with age comes wisdom, and the once exuberant young man has grown more reflective, less opinionated, and more accommodating.
Therein lies the beauty of life.
Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash
You only know what is behind the bend once you take that leap of faith. You can only appreciate different perspectives once you have seen things from the other person’s point of view. I learned early in life that you must have an open mind if you want to advance. Just because you are right doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to look at things.
Whether it relates to marriage, education, friendship, or other aspects of life, human life is meant to be a journey of discovery.
Every waking moment is an opportunity to learn something, meet someone, achieve milestones, and grow. If we had a manual to accomplish all these, life would be boring.
The tremendous disservice anyone could do to themselves is to not live their lives to the fullest. That is why the cemetery is always referred to as the place of many regrets. Staying in your comfort zone is the quickest way to become unsatisfied. If you don’t step outside your comfort zone, you won’t learn anything new, and every aspect of your life will stagnate.
Discovering life may be as simple as honoring that invitation, going out on that date, taking up that job, or planning a flight or road trip to a foreign location. You can go right if you pick something, invest more in trying new things or see what’s around the bend.
Do something new today because when people look back on their lives, they regret the risks they didn’t take more than the ones they did.
Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
Looking clearly at all of it you get to appreciate that there is no need for a manual for life because no one has it all figured and we are all discovering the mystery of each waking day.
So take to heart the words of Mandy Hale in her book – The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass, “Life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly…but merely to be LIVED. Boldly, wildly, beautifully, uncertainly, imperfectly, magically LIVED”.
Okechukwu Nzeribe works with the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, in Anambra State, Nigeria, and loves unveiling the richness of African cultures.
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