I sat on the porch yesterday. It was sunny and just warm enough to not bundle up in a jacket. I was able to just sit out there and listen to the waves. We’re currently at a beach house on the NC coast, just getting away from it all for a bit. I don’t get that much quiet time during the day, so I stole some. I grabbed myself a beer and sat out on the back porch to watch the water and just listen to the silence for a bit.

I just finished Matthew McConaughey’s book “Greenlights.” It’s a good read and made even better in audio form where he reads it himself. It’s not a dry read. He’s completely animated while reading his story. He laughs, jokes, chuckles, shouts, and really involves you in the storytelling. I loved it. Along the way, he said a few things that stuck out to me. One of which I’ve been ruminating on for the past couple of days:

You can't make your life longer by trying not to die.

That’s a pretty wild statement. I spend a lot of my time, particularly during the pandemic, “trying not to die.” Not doing anything outside of a special box that I’ve created that makes me feel safe and comfortable. It’s part of the reason I think the last 10 years or so feel like they’ve passed by in record time. I haven’t done anything of note. Sure I’ve changed jobs, gone on vacations, spent time with family and such, but 100% new experiences are few and far between.

I’m not making plans to go off to deepest, darkest Africa to find myself or anything, but it did give me something to think on for a spell. So I sat on that back porch yesterday ruminating over it. What do I want to do? I don’t have the answer yet. Here lately, I can’t help but have felt the clock ticking a little louder than it used to. Maybe it’s family members getting older or Sam growing up, or something else just outside my view. Either way, “Memento Mori” has rang in my ears louder lately.

Gonna need to think on it some more. Maybe dig real deep to see what I can find. That’s going to take more quiet time on the beach, and maybe another beer.