Busy Living

Anyone who knows me well knows that my favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. To me, it is as close to a perfect movie that one could watch. It has that rare ability to draw the viewer in emotionally and intellectually. For me at least it puts a lot of perspectives on the way I view life into visual depictions. The movie is full of quotable that apply to the everyday grind that life can some times be. The tag-line for the movie is: Fear Can Keep You Prisoner, Hope Can Set You Free. The whole movie is built on hope. As Andy states to Red (Morgan Freeman) “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best, and no good thing ever dies.” We're all hopeful of so many things in life. Some of them may be tangible things that we can physically admire and appreciate, while others are more internal accomplishments that can only be measured by our own mind and will. There is one thing that I hope for I make the right choice of everyday, and it happens to be another quote that is synonymous with me and the movie. That choice happens to be whether or not I “Get Busy Living, or Get Busy Dying”

What does it mean to live? Shoot I could go on forever about the physiological and psychological theories that are attributed to living. What does is mean to be dying? Once again I could answer that in a physical sense or a mental sense. Currently I am taking a course on Therapy for individuals and families dealing with death, loss, and grief. Definitely a heavy topic to be discussed and read about week in and week out. The first week of class we were all handed a piece of paper and art supplies to draw out what our concept of death was. We each had the opportunity to share what we drew, and how it is attributed to our own perception of death. My drawing was quite simple. I drew a headstone that stated “Andrew Joseph Quesnelle November 13^th, 1991 -” My explanation for it was that in life we only have one guarantee, and that guarantee is that we are all going to die one day. It is the only certainty that exists, yet it is the most uncertain reality in the world for most of us. Death to me isn't highlighted by the date that will one day conclude that headstone, but the dash that exists in between. Our lives will all one day be measured by the dash. One simple character defines a life we carried out, the things we've accomplished, and the people we loved. All of that lies behind a single dash.

Is “getting busy living” a measurable thing? I don't know, because each one of us hold a different perspective on what it means to live a successful life. Is it achieved through financial and educational triumphs? Is a life that has been “lived” measured by the minutes and breaths that are taken? To me, it's a conscious decision to build upon what you've already written, and watching the seeds sprout to fruition. Perhaps that is a tad too poetic, but in actuality that’s how I feel I accomplish living life. Learning from what I've already done. Never being content in one spot, and always being willing to challenge myself to grow and watch the leaves of life sprout out from the ground. 

All that being said, does that answer why I chose to become a social worker when I undoubtedly have the mental capacity to pursue much more lavish careers? Does it answer why I am in the relationships with friends and family the way I am today? Maybe. What I can answer though is that I am glad I have the life I do, and I'm glad I am surrounded by the people who are in my life. One promise that I can make is that I believe I am living my life in a way that I am meant to. No matter what short comings or downfalls come at me, I've got an awful lot to live for. In the end, that “dash” is a good of reason as any to get busy living, because in the end death is a certainty; so make life a priority.