Where do they dream?

I guess in a too-short life dreams become more of a necessity than an option.  Guarantees of tomorrow, or even an hour from now, simply don't exist.  NO ONE has been given a guarantee that they won't wink out in the next instant.  Kind of a 'duh' statement, isn't it?  I mean, we know this, but yet... we don't know this.  With every decision we make we prove to the world at large how we still feel immortal, and yet it's a whole lot like walking the edge of the cliff.. at night.. with sunglasses on. Which little misstep or prophecy of nature will send us over the edge when we least expect it?

Yes.  It's lunacy to focus on mortality.  But it's genius to be aware and not take things for granted.  What's YOUR life IQ?

If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say 'Don't take life for granted,' I'd be a very wealthy woman right now.  Saying it is easy.  Putting it into practice is an entirely different thing.  So how do I put it in practice?  Crazy as it sounds, I don't hoard life.  THAT'S how I put it into practice.

Hoarding life.  How does one actually do this?  Well, while it's wise to save for the future, plan for the future and all it could hold, we have to remember that the key here is the word "Could."  Again, no guarantee means we also have to live NOW, not to take experiences or people for granted.  Live NOW....

Take that long-put-off vacation.
ACT on the things you wanted to get done and haven't.
STOP procrastinating on the important stuff.
RECOGNIZE the importance of being in the moment every single day without fail.
Buy that album.
Go to that concert.
Have that special meal.
Eat a dessert once in a while.
Savor the moments you love.
LOVE.
RESPECT.
APPRECIATE.
And for God's sake LET GO of the people and things in your life that cause chronic anxiety, unhappiness, and feelings of depression.

That is so not the full list.  But it's the basic idea behind everything, really.

In a world based on uncertainty I hear people talk about what they're going to do when they retire.  And I have to wonder.. did YOU get a memo saying you'll actually reach retirement age?  Nooooo.. I'm not saying blow your life savings, because that would be utterly stupid.  But what I'm saying is.. do those things, as many as you can NOW, because even if you reach retirement age you may not be healthy enough to do those things.

This is what I want.  I want to live now, not later.  One thing finding out I have a chronic, life-long, incurable illness is this: If I don't follow my dreams and indulge my heart now.. I may not get a chance later.

Well then... I've had a lot of coffee this morning, haven't I?