One life. Live it

St Lucia Live! How few of us remember what it is like just to live for today, to focus on the here and now. We worry about the outstanding credit cards, our careers or business and all the commitments and responsibilities we have.

I recently heard someone I know, when asked how his business was performing – “I live”. He makes enough money to survive but instead of working and commuting, he spends his days doing what he enjoys. From taking long walks with his two small sons, to creating the pottery that earns him his income and riding his beloved horses, alongside his wife, he lives.

Probably the biggest contrast I see is in the children. His kids run around barefoot in the dust, an old wrecked car an amazing plaything, never once uttering the words “I’m bored”. On the opposite end of the scale are my daughter’s school mates with highly ordered lives of extra-mural activities and access to more toys, television and computers than ever. Playdates are organised events instead of spontaneous visits across the street. Yet, boredom strikes constantly.

My children fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum I suppose – spending large amounts of time on my parent’s plot, climbing trees and discovering another way of life. The rest of the time, they regularly intone “I’m bored…”

We spend so much time moving up the hierarchy of needs, aiming for the status, ego satisfying and self-actualisation achievements we believe are important we forget to simply breathe … and just live.

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