Do we need extreme situations to value life?

An accident, an illness, someone who leaves or someone who doesn’t come back. It is there, in those moments, when the clock stops. Dry. And then something clicks and we understand that we are passing through, that nothing lasts forever. And I would say that we do not usually value life, even if it is all we have.

Routine envelops us and we let ourselves be carried away. We want more, even if sometimes we don’t know what. We neglect ties that were made to be precious and we tie ropes tightly to ourselves that don’t let us breathe. We get used to things going (without flowing) and we get used to the comfort of a house (without paying attention to whether it is a home)..

Habituation: emotional anesthesia?

Habituation is that learning that causes us to respond with less frequency and intensity to stimuli that are presented to us repeatedly. We stop paying attention to the things we take for granted. We lose sight of the importance of being wiser or the luck of still being accompanied by those we love.

But sometimes something destroys everything, knocking down walls, schemes and ways of living. It seems unbelievable, but sometimes we need extreme situations to value life. And that’s when we appreciate what we had, and understand how absurd it was not to give it love and attention when we had it.

We know that life is finite, but most of the people I have seen squeeze it out have felt fear of losing it or the fragility of “today I am, tomorrow I don’t know.” By this I don’t mean that we stop making future plans or thinking long term. What I want to convey is that life is today. It is being. And that, if by thinking about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow, you do not perceive the strength that today has, perhaps along the way you are missing out on life.

Valuing life is not escaping from routine

Valuing life does not mean fleeing from routine or seeking extreme emotions to feel your heart beating. It means opening your eyes, paying attention to details and taking advantage of time. It is becoming aware of what you are and have to be grateful for it and fight to maintain it. And it is paying attention to what is not working to fix it and make tomorrow a day more worth valuing. Valuing life is, ultimately, give meaning to time and understand that you can have new excitement without having to wear new shoes.

Someone was talking to me not long ago about how much they regretted paying so much attention to commitment. He told me that he felt like he had mortgaged many moments by introducing people (out of commitment) on personally important days or working (out of commitment) until so late. That he especially regretted those days when he had not even been able to see his children.

If I write this, it is because There are issues that do not deserve so much commitment, since they are not that important.. And I also write this because there are things so important that, no matter how frequent they are or how much they have never been lacking, it is unfair to take them for granted and ignore the value they have.

Remember that you breathe, listen to yourself and listen to what surrounds you. Pay attention to the small everyday things, and don’t downplay the importance of a beautiful afternoon. Take advantage and invest time as if it could not be recovered. Stop and think about it: time is slipping away. But it still remains and belongs to you. It’s happening and we need to realize it. That Extreme situations are not necessary to know how to value life, since it is already valuable in itself.

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