Life today is awash in quotes, sayings, bromides, and any short take on the language. Some are dreamy wisps of the impossible or improbable. Others are commands that leave no doubt as to what we need to do to live well and die happy.
Some are as old as civilization while others are so new they are a near perfect match to our present condition. Some come from history’s greatest philosophers and leaders while others have been written by common folks able to give new thoughts a different twist.
Not only are they persuasive, they are everywhere — used as brief fillers of space in magazines, included in the scripts of movies or appearing in books to help make a convincing point for a plot.
On the home scene, they are often taped or held by magnets to the refrigerator that while standing tall among all other appliances, prominently displays them every day. There, they share space with notices ranging from “must do” reminders to family pictures that pull the heartstrings and factual to dreamy postcards that display beautiful and emotionally uplifting scenes. It’s no wonder that someone once said the refrigerator is to a home what New York City’s Grand Central Station is to railways and Atlanta’s airport is to air travel.
Like many other refrigerators, ours has always served us in the same logical ways. What is attached to its three sides is scant but selected with care. The best evidence of that is the presence of only one saying that’s been on the front so long that we no longer remember who found it or where.
What immediately hits home is that it amounts to only six words, so only a glance is needed to read and understand it. Equally impressive is that it neither preaches nor demands. Simply, logically, and convincingly, it merely reminds.
It reads: An interesting life is a choice.
That point can’t be argued. What a person makes of their life rests not on the shoulders of anyone or any group but solidly on their own. Their choice is simple: Either remain firmly anchored only in what comes along or engineer the circumstances so as to be exposed to new and previously unexplored events and opportunities.
Or that same person can gently but firmly twist their imagination in another direction that then seems to open up new possibilities for doing, experiencing, and learning. Taking advantage of such new opportunities sharpens our sense of awareness that, in turn, reveals what we never knew existed.
That act of adding anything new isn’t lost on the human brain which not only notices but gets excited enough to then open still more doors. Walking through them causes us to ask the “if” question, then welcome the resulting answer.
When that is accepted by our conscious mind, we begin filling in enough blanks to cause us to do what we have never done before, meet people we have never seen before, and go places that until then had only been items on a so-called “wish list.”
As this unfolds, the old and familiar is usually traded in for a refurbished version. Or it can be tuned up to still be an old friend but with a new voice and an exciting agenda for what happens the next day, week, month, or year.
Interesting people aren’t born that way, nor are they born with that valuable attribute called curiosity. The elements for both are there, but it’s up to the person to put them in proper position so the good in them can be revealed and put into play. I’m not including instructions on how to do that because that’s a separate subject.
Over time, however, it’s easy to identify a person who has chosen to have an interesting life. They walk and move with more grace and assurance. They engage easily and with confidence. They are aware of what is going on around them. They tell stories and are always eager and excited to hear new ones. They are real and so is their enthusiasm, sense of humor, and love of life.
So, here again is the quote: An interesting life is a choice. Post it where you will always be reminded of the choices you have and which of them you wish to make in your own pursuit of an interesting life.
