June had been a manic month that I failed to post a single blog article. There weren’t much updates on my IG or FB accounts either, despite how busy the month was. They say that the best moments don’t make it on the social media, and it’s one statement that holds true for me.
My June was filled with celebrations of life – birthdays (mine and my son’s), the memories of a dearly departed, and the reality of projects that started out as dreams. The shift of emotions was as fickle as the waves that it had me grasping for words.
Moments such as these stirred up yet another episode of existential analysis. We all see life at a different spectrum. We have individual dreams and plans on how we spend our lives on Earth, but what is life, really?
I’ve always been open with how I’ve lived my life. My 35 years of existence has taught me so much that my desire to share my journeys and (mis)adventures has manifested in both virtual and real worlds. June, however, has been so momentous that it walked me back through the past 35 years. Here’s a list of what Life is, as reminded by the month of June:
Life is uncontrollable.
My 35th birthday showed me that Life is uncontrollable. I remember in one of the classes that I facilitated, I mentioned that one reason why we get stressed is when something happens no matter how much we prevent it. Although I feel young, hitting the 35 mark makes me anxious for whatever reason. When I celebrated my 34th birthday, I was still fine – I even did a boudoir photo shoot to celebrate my age! But now, I sometimes feel worried how time flies so fast and how aging cannot be stopped. Is this is a full-blown quarter-life crisis? The fact that I’m on the midway point between 30 and 40 gives me both the creeps and the thrills.
Nevertheless, to walk the Earth for another year is definitely something to celebrate.
Life needs to be shared.
Junos’ 10 birthday, on the other hand, reminded me how life needs to be shared. For this year, we chose to spend it in the islands with a DIY Minecraft theme. The sparks in his eyes and in the children’s at the party were like gems to me, as they ate the simple meal and participated in the games that we prepared for them.
When we got home that day, Juno exclaimed “Best birthday ever!”. It was all music to my ears.
Several times we say that ‘we don’t need anyone’. Although there were indeed instances that I uttered this line, for most parts of my life I’d say that I’d still prefer those moments when I wasn’t all by myself. As for me, my son is all I need. And I’m completely sorry for the times that I wanted to give up and waste my life away, when I have another soul to share my life with.
Life is short.
The passing of a good friend emphasized to me that life is short and that death is sure.
You can just imagine the shift of emotion that I felt when we did Juno’s birthday party during the day and read about my friend’s passing at night. It was really painful for most of us at the office, as this person was loved dearly. It was one of those unexpected losses as he lived an active and healthy lifestyle. His life may be short-lived, but it was definitely a full one.
Death, though devastating, is a good reminder for all of us to humble down as these lives that we are enjoying at the moment are just borrowed. Laugh, cry, love, forgive as life is fleeting, and we are not sure how much time we still have to do all these things.
Life is limitless.
The launch of MBPS Quill (Writers’ Club) Cebu and the expansion of Tutus & Bellas Eventology to Cebu confirmed to me how limitless, albeit short, life is. We have heard a lot of quotes about this – “Life is an adventure”, “Life is like a book”, “Life is a map”, The world is our oyster”, “The sky’s the limit”, etc. All these, however, only mean one thing – that we are bounded by the limits we set to ourselves.
As I said on my previous post, build a door when one closes on you. My permanent move from the city to the islands was an integral part of that door-building. It boosted the proactivity that I needed in order to free myself from the restrictions that I caged myself in – fear, comfort zone, complacency.
Putting all these together reminds me there are only a few things in the world that are constant: Matter, Energy, Space, Time, Change. Everything else is variable, especially with what we do with our lives. Though Life may be short and uncontrollable, it presents to us limitless opportunities so that we can fulfill its need to be shared. As Eep of The Croods say, there’s a difference between living and not dying. It’s up to us to actually make the most out of LIFE and to truly LIVE.
How about you, what is life for you?
Stay loved and blessed! ♥🙏
Miss Mars 