Words for the Week No.26 // About perspective

It's monday, but I don't have a Creative10 project to show you. I've been more creative than usual, but somehow, painting wasn't one of those creative activities last week. I've been making a lot of projects for my upcoming e-book, so I took some time off from the creative challenge.

Over the weekend, I read Oliver Sacks' thoughts on having terminal cancer. He's 81 years old and so, the prospect of death wasn't that foreign to him (being first diagnosed with cancer 9 years previously), but having a clear deadline to his life's work did change his perspective on both life and death. 

This article was somehow unbelievably inspiring for me. When you read the above quote, it might feel sad, not inspiring. But, if you turn the perspective around, and look at it not from the ending, but from the beginning point of life, there's a whole new story there. 

We are all born unique. And, I don't mean it in a motivational-speech kind of way, at least not directly. I just want you to think about this for a second. We all have a unique set of DNA code + a unique life journey which means that there isn't a single human being ever that is exactly the same (at least, the statistical probability of that is non-existent). Isn't that fascinating?

Yes, we all have similar experiences, but we are not the same. Our life is not like any other. We are not like any other. That somehow makes me proud of my life. I'm the only one who gets to experience it. Even more, I have the power to shape what this life is going to be like. I'm the active creator of a big and powerful artwork that is my life.

I loved reading Sacks' thoughts on his life and how he sees the last days of his life. I mean, I hope I live at least another 60 years, but no matter the length, we are born with an expiration date. Am I living my life in a way that by the time I'm at the finish line I would be thankful for every day and everything I was able to fit into it? Honestly, I'm not sure. I think I'm getting there. I think I'm trying to get there. But, I know I could be more bold. More courageous. More appreciative of this unique experience that is my life.

Make this the best week of the year yet! I know I plan to.

xo. Hanna