We're all guilty of it—getting caught up in the hustle and grind, rushing through our days on autopilot. We get so caught up in the grind, obsessing over our productivity and to-do lists, that we completely miss out on actually living.
Seneca warned against this trap over 2,000 years ago: "You are living as if destined to live forever; your own frailty never occurs to you... How late it is to begin really to live just when life must end!"
Harsh words, but he speaks the truth. It's like a wake-up call. It's a total paradox when you think about it. As Annie Dillard said, "The world is bursting with wonder, and yet it's the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might be to experience more of that wonder." We're so focused on checking boxes that we completely miss the mind-blowing fact that we're even here, alive and conscious, in this vast mysterious universe.
Seneca puts it beautifully—we've been given this "spell of time" to experience the profound gift of existence. Too often, we just let it "rush by so swiftly" without truly soaking it in and appreciating the magic. It's time for a wake-up call. It's time to stop sleepwalking and start living with real vivid presence and intensity.
The amazing thing is, it's so simple to unlock. We just have to make the choice to pause, look around with fresh eyes, and be here now. Breathe in every moment we're given like it's our last. Because you know what? It very well could be.
Life is happening this very second, all around us and within us. Are you going to keep snoozing through it? Or are you finally going to start living?