41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
Gah! I'd take my family with me to visit my parents and my inlaws and during all of that travel time coast to coast I'd call my closest friends to connect along the way.
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
Give up ten years of friends and family? Ten years of watching my child (and potentially her child) grow? Ten years of attempting recipes and going on walks and bad tv shows? Not a chance. I already have a life I love. Ten years is too great a price to get an equal life with different circumstances.
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
One is merely existing and the other is experiencing. I've met a few people who go through life letting it happen to them and it is never a pretty picture. They have war stories and bent backs but they never seem to have learned or enjoyed anything. It's always about what happened to them rather than what they did or how they happened to other people. I may feel at times (see my previous post) that I'm letting life just sail by without doing anything about it but I strive to feel in control of my life. I want to know, at the end of my time here, that I mattered to people, that I didn't just sit by and let things happen but that I went out and effected change in the world whether through activisim, friendship, compassion, or hard work.
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
This question is incredibly timely for me. I think it's time to stop calculating when you've gone over everything from several angles, thought about it, discussed it with those involved (spouse, partner, colleague), discussed it with your chosen sounding board (parent, friend, etc) and the only thing left to do is commit. I don't make hasty decisions. I can't afford to when I have people depending on me. However, when you're running the same scenarios over and over with the same result and you know the answer, it's time to make a decision and stick with it.
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Learning from mistakes can be painful, messy, and embarrassing. Who wants to go through that? I think we're always looking for ways to learn our lessons without having to cry, bleed, or beg in front of others. We often fail and come out the other end better people but it's not an easy process. Life is not always (or often) kind.
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