Do We Need Extreme Situations To Value Life?

An accident, an illness, someone who leaves or someone who does not return. It is there, in those moments, when the clock stops. Dry. And then something clicks and we understand that we are passing through, that nothing is eternal. And I would say that we do not usually value life, even if it is all we have.

The routine envelops us and we let ourselves be carried away. We want more, although sometimes we do not know of what. We neglect ties that were made to be precious and we tie tight ropes that do not let us breathe. We get used to things going (without flowing) and we get used to the comfort of a home (regardless of whether it is home).

Habituation: emotional anesthesia?

Habituation is that learning that causes us to respond with less frequency and intensity to stimuli that are presented to us repeatedly. We stop paying attention to the things we take for granted. We lose sight of the importance of being wiser or the luck of being accompanied by those we love.

But sometimes something destroys everything, throwing down walls, schemes and ways of living. It seems a lie, but sometimes we need extreme situations to value life. And that’s when we appreciate what we had, and we understand how absurd it was not to give it love and attention when we had it. 

We know that life is finite, but most of the people I have seen squeeze it out have felt fear of losing it or the fragility of “I’m here today, I don’t know tomorrow.” By this I do not mean that we stop making plans for the future or thinking in the long term. What I want to convey is that life is today. It is being. And that, if by thinking about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow, you do not perceive the strength that it has today, perhaps along the way you are losing your life.

Valuing life is not running away from routine

Valuing life does not mean running away from routine or seeking extreme emotions to feel your heart beating. It means opening your eyes, paying attention to details, and taking advantage of time. It is becoming aware of what you are and what you have to be grateful for and fight to keep it. And it is paying attention to what is not working to fix it and make tomorrow a more worthwhile day. Valuing life is, in short, giving meaning to time and understanding that you can brand new illusion without having to wear new shoes.

Someone was telling me not long ago about how sorry they were for paying so much attention to commitment. He told me that he felt he had mortgaged many moments by introducing people (by commitment) on personally important days or by working (by commitment) until so late. That she especially regretted those days when she hadn’t even been able to see her children.

If I write this, it is because there are issues that do not deserve so much commitment, since they are not so important. And I also write this because there are things so important that, no matter how frequent they are or how much they have never been lacking, it is unfair to take them for granted and ignore their value.

Remember that you breathe, listen to yourself and listen to your surroundings. Pay attention to the little things of day to day, and do not downplay a beautiful afternoon. Take advantage and invest the time as if it could not be recovered. Stop and think about it: time is slipping away. But it still remains and it belongs to you. It is happening and we need to realize it. Do  not need extreme situations to know how to value life, it is already valuable in itself.