I want this to be a heart-to-heart. Over the past few months, I\u2019ve lost people who were incredibly close to me. That kind of loss forced me to confront something we all tend to avoid\u2014my own mortality. It\u2019s strange how most of us live as if death doesn\u2019t apply to us. We may acknowledge it in passing, but the conversations often feel distant and surface-level. That\u2019s because, until we experience deep personal loss, death remains abstract. But when you lose someone who was a part of your life, it\u2019s a stark reminder that it\u2019s not just an idea\u2014it\u2019s our inevitable reality too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s even more sobering is that we don\u2019t know when it\u2019s going to happen. Yet we carry on, living in denial, as if we have all the time in the world. I remember my dad once telling me, \u201cDeath is born with us the moment we enter this world. It walks with us like a shadow, and when it finally stands in front of us, it consumes us.\u201d The imagery stuck with me. It\u2019s like a black hole that pulls everything in, leaving nothing behind. It\u2019s unsettling to think about, which is why most people shy away from talking about it. Why? Because it\u2019s uncomfortable, and none of us want to face the end of our journey. But maybe that\u2019s exactly why we should<\/em> think about it\u2014because knowing there\u2019s an end makes life feel more precious. It sharpens your focus on what truly matters, how you spend your time, and who you spend it with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I first started writing this blog, my idea was to practice so that someday, maybe in my 40s or 50s, I\u2019d have enough life experience to write a book. But lately, I\u2019ve realized how na\u00efve that idea was\u2014what if I don\u2019t even make it till then? Why wait? That\u2019s why I\u2019m writing now\u2014pouring out my thoughts, opinions, and my story while I can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steve Jobs\u2019 advice to \u201clive each day as if it\u2019s your last\u201d resonates with me more now than ever. We never know what\u2019s going to happen, and if we don\u2019t stay aware of that, life will pass us by. Sometimes I jokingly ask my friends if they think the Earth is spinning faster because time seems to fly by. Days, weeks, and years blur together before we even realize it. Mornings turn into evenings in a blink. And with time moving this fast, how can we afford to waste it? Yet, most of us do. We procrastinate. We assume we\u2019ll have time later to do the things we care about. But the truth is, our clock is ticking, and none of us know how much is left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, thinking about death too much can overwhelm you. It can make you feel anxious, like you\u2019re racing against time, burning yourself out, and ironically, shortening your own life. My intention here isn\u2019t to stress you out\u2014it\u2019s to remind you of the value of your time, energy, and health. I want to give you a reality check, one that propels you toward your dreams and turns them into achievable goals. I once read that dream with a plan of action is goal. My hope is that you start turning your dreams into goals and make the most of your time on this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To live fully, you have to step outside your comfort zone. Nothing meaningful happens if you just sit at home binge-watching Netflix. The idea isn\u2019t about productivity for the sake of it\u2014it\u2019s about living in the present and being intentional with your time. The present is all we have. The past is in your heart, and the future is in your head. Do what truly matters to you, and master the art of saying \u201cno\u201d to what doesn\u2019t. Just because everyone else is doing something doesn\u2019t mean you need to do it. Before committing to anything, ask yourself if it deserves your time and energy. If the answer is no, then don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That being said, I know it\u2019s not always easy. Many of us feel trapped by obligations. Maybe you want to pursue something creative, but you\u2019re stuck in a job that pays the bills. You feel like you can\u2019t say \u201cno\u201d to it because your life depends on it. But if you value your time, then you owe it to yourself to pursue what really lights you up, instead of wasting your precious hours on things that don\u2019t matter. Believe me, you have the power to change your circumstances\u2014it\u2019s just about where you decide to focus your energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I asked myself what I want to accomplish before my time is up, the answers came quickly. I wrote them down and started working towards them. Once I achieve one, I\u2019ll create new goals and keep moving forward. That\u2019s how i want to create a meaningful, enriching life. So, what do you<\/em> want to do before your time is up? Don\u2019t delay it, because you may not get another chance. I think about my grandmother, bedridden, her body paralyzed but her mind still sharp. She could still think and remember, but she couldn\u2019t act on any of it. If at all that day ever happens to me, I don\u2019t wanna lay in that bed regretting what I could have done while I was young and healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I want this to be a heart-to-heart. Over the past few months, I\u2019ve lost people who were incredibly close to me. That kind of loss forced me to confront something we all tend to avoid\u2014my own mortality. It\u2019s strange how most of us live as if death doesn\u2019t apply to us. We may acknowledge it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-personal-musings"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions\/166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrutharajan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}