Member-only story
Life Is Too Short to Waste Another Minute of It Being Angry
None of us knows how long we have on this earth. Every day people’s lives are cut tragically short by distracted drivers, liver cirrhosis, and uncooperative shrimps lodged sideways in windpipes.
Any one of us could be gone tomorrow.
So do I want my last day on this planet spent in a rage?
Do I want to wake up on my last day and feel bitterness, anger, and resentment?
Or would I rather spend the majority of my breathing minutes loving those around me and enjoying what each new day has to offer?
Don’t get me wrong: Feelings come and go. Anger swells, sorrow overcomes us. And just like Mr. Rogers and Joy and Sadness in Pixar’s Inside Out told us, our feelings are good for us. We all have them and we all need to experience them.
But wallowing is wasting precious time.
I was let go from my job unexpectedly and, from my perspective, incredibly unfairly two weeks ago. And I’m mad as hell about it. I sweat it out at the gym. I write seething notes to my former bosses that I have no intention of sending. I punch pillows and I cry my eyes out.
I feel everything all the time.
But life is short and we never know how long we have. So I’d better get started on the things I’d be proud to say I did and felt in my final moments, because no one knows when those are.
Because my body deserves a fighting chance.
Because my soul deserves peace.