Being lazy in a life without the guarantee of tomorrow

As time goes on I have found myself living with a lot more urgency to do things. Just to be active in general really and not wasting time doing very little. This could simply be getting out of bed without a lie in or taking a walk, if I am not doing at least something, I hear that life clock ticking.

This is why I have travelled to Australia. To pursue travel, space to blog on my own, experiences to gain and stories to share. But even when I wake up in my bed and feel the humidity instead of hearing the rain hitting my bedroom window back in the UK, it isn’t enough to convince me I am doing something different. I still need to get up and get busy.

Living in hostels I have encountered some backpackers that are happy to sit in bed all day. Reading a book with towels and sheets draped over the bunk above, their den is made and that is where they stay. I couldn’t do that, I just find it very hard to sit still without my brain making a mental list of the things I can be doing instead. Admittedly a walk down the river isn’t really being more productive, but my mind is at rest when my muscles are moving or mind being stimulated with changing views.

Another factor is time. The older we get, the more we value time. Or at least we should. I remember years used to seem like decades as a child, and with every year passing at an increasing speed with the losses that are inevitable over time, our hourglass seems to shrink.

The problem with this hourglass is we cannot see it. We don’t know when that last grain of sand will drop and our experiences come to an end. We can only accept and acknowledge this, make the most of the time and remaining grateful that it isn’t today. This is what gets me out of the house every day.

As a kid I always struggled to think of what I wanted to do as an adult. The obvious ones provide ambition and excitement as a young child, you know the thought of being a professional footballer or an astronaut. The time when we don’t know our limits and in reality, didn’t have any. As we mature a little into our teens our ambitions tend to dwindle. The harsh realities of life become apparent and get in the way of the things we want the most. This can be a major obstacle between what we wanted way back as fearless children and what we will become in later life. Some professions are highly unlikely however, such as working for NASA or playing for Manchester United. But our ambition for at least something should remain.

I remember at 17 my English teacher suggested I become a manager of a leisure centre as I enjoyed sports and the leisure and tourism course I took up. I was at an age when I felt that I had to sacrifice big dreams and tone it down a little. Be more realistic and settle as after all, what are the chances of us doing what we actually want to do in life? I found that my teenage/early twenties phase to be like that and after getting out there and exploring a little bit more of the world I managed to break free from that mentality. To get out of the bubble I had been in my whole life and see the world from a different perspective and mindset. This was the best thing I could have done and I am so happy I did.

I may have to settle for a job I don’t really want to do. But I have a love for writing, travel and photography from my iPhone and if I can free as much time as I can to pursue this then I will be a much happier person. It has motivated me to try and reduce the amount of time I am working by finding other ways to earn an income, if one day I start to get paid for blogging well enough to afford a professional camera or to only have to work part time, I would be twice as happy and more content in life than to do a job simply to pay the bills. This is why I blog and get up every morning, to constantly try to think of ways to achieve this. And without knowing how many grains of sand are left in the glass I have a huge reason to do so.

Too many people ran out of sand too soon, many of them not fully experiencing a life they wanted to. We will all run out of sand, and knowing this doesn’t have to be a curse but a blessing, for this is a way to truly find motivation to achieve and experience a life fully lived.

 

Featured Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

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Happy blogging,

Sam