Fog City

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST

I’ve often heard the line, “live life to the fullest.” What exactly does that mean? Usually I notice said refrain, after someone experiences a near death occurrence. Cancer patients in remission, near fatal car accident victims are some common proponents of grasping more tightly to what they’ve been given. And when given a second chance, just what is it we become more aware of?

When I put myself in those shoes and think how could I live life to the fullest, my mind reels. My perception or concepts tend to see exaggerated efforts, huge and risky endeavors, and experiences beyond mundane, daily activities. Like climbing Mt. Everest, parachuting period, single handedly sailing across an ocean, or hiking North to South America, things I’m not going to do.

Are these grand efforts and all they entail really living life fuller? Say you slip on Everest ice and slide to your death, or the chute doesn’t open and wham, or a raging storm sinks your boat and you drown, well your fans can sing, he lived life to the fullest. I don’t know, I tend to approach the idea of a fuller life a bit differently. Say I know I’m going to die, which I do, we all are, and I’ve been given a relative time limit. I ask myself, how can I be happy, or happier? What makes me happy and is happy what I want, and is happy equal to fullest?

Let me just interject, knowing I’m going to die does not make me happy. I’m a septuagenarian and have given considerable thought to the subject of a full life. I’m also a pragmatist and understand clearly, happiness (fullest) is personal and subjective.

Happy 1, marked by joy
Happy 2, marked by good fortune
Happy 3, eagerly disposed to be of service
Happy 4, well expressed and to the point

So if I stir these ingredients into the stew of a full life, I honestly don’t see traipsing up mountains as a goal. I can though, use the examples of two figures I admire, Gandhi and Mother Teresa, who climbed mountains and sailed oceans daily, humbly smiling, fortunate to be in service to their fellow man.

I think it’s important to realize a full life is a personal domain. The defining qualities of a full life are not determined by others, but by you. Various monks, Buddhists, Trappists et al, dedicate their lives to austerity, compassion, and harmony, attributes I consider quite fulfilling. This is where I turn inward on my quest for a full life. Knowing I don’t have the resources or desire to triumph over obstacles like mountains and oceans, I can strive to see clearly – to see what makes me happy, calm and joyful and express it.  Understanding is triumph. When I’m silent like now, thinking of these words and what they mean to me and trying to convey them, I’m joyful, I’m happy. Can’t this moment be considered living life to the fullest? I say yes.

The funny thing is I apply this logic, my logic, to all my actions and observations. Each morning when a flock of geese honk their way over my house I revel in our connectedness. When the neighborhood children stop to play in my wife’s fairy garden, and hold the small seashells to their ears, listening for the sound of the ocean, I appreciate the harmony. I can climb two city blocks and see both the Pacific Ocean to the West and turning East, the City’s striking skyline downtown. My Everest. Most significant of this inward looking triumph is family. Logically I reflect, contemplate and dwell on my good fortune, which is my wife, my sons, their wives, and my grandchildren. This family web of consciousness spreads and covers most all my world. All that I see or do has links to family. Fullness.

I won’t bore you with my medical history, but I can attest to being faced with the notion, “I better live my life to the fullest.” What is the fullest? I subscribe to the idea, the mundane, our daily life, what we do and don’t do, are the components necessary. Being aware, being aware of yourself and your surroundings. When you are sitting in your chair and worried about living your life to the fullest, you are. Know it.

P.S.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include a note about the flip side of living a full life. I have some experience in the field and I know more than a few who would discard or discount my earlier thoughts. Those, who would embrace the vices as a means to fulfillment, and shirk all responsibility while diving head long into final debauchery. Oh well, death awaits either way!