SOUL ON ICE

There are 24 hours in a day. Another way of interpreting it is there are 1,440 minutes in a day. Another way of interpreting that is there are 86,400 seconds in a day. No matter how the amount of time in a day is broken down, the fact is the amount of time is exactly the same, and every hour, every minute, and every second matters. More than ever, as time passes and the minutes, hours and days pass, there is the realization of time being the most important resource in a person’s possession.

There’s uncertainty as to when the moment of clarity came on this end. The title of this post is drawn from a line in The Shawshank Redemption when Andy Dufresne and Red were sitting in the prison yard having a conversation. The realization of being in prison for nearly 20 years (Busch, 2016), with no sign of his release coming to fruition, led Andy to quote a line that has stuck since the first time being exposed to the movie years ago. It can take a myriad of events for people to conclude that time truly is the most precious resource a person has. It is a resource that people cannot get back and should be cherished as much as possible. On the flip side, time is something that is often predicated by, or shared with, people and the unpredictability of another person, or people, can often lead to time not being viewed with the preciousness, urgency, and respect that it should.

“People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.” – Andrew Smith

“I feel like I died 20 years ago, and I live like a man who’s dead already.” – Malcolm X

Death is a fascinating concept. Everyone knows it’s coming, simply because there isn’t one person walking the face of the world who was born in the beginning of time and is still around, in their physical form, today. People are born, they live, and they die. In between, the best people can do is be as productive as possible with the time they’re given to live.

Smith’s quote makes sense in the vein that death can’t be conquered. All the weightlifting, 5Ks, half marathons and full marathons in the world isn’t going to change the fact that, eventually, everyone has an expiration date. All the clean eating in the world isn’t going to change the fact that when it's time to go, it's time to go. All the abstinence won’t change that. All the promiscuity won’t change that. All the time spent keeping up with the Joneses, or marching to the beat of your own drum won’t change that. Death has a perfect percentage from the field, a perfect batting average at the plate and the best quarterback rating in the history of life. When it comes to the education of life, it has a 4.0 GPA. It doesn’t mean a damn thing what people think about death; it’s going to happen. Malcolm’s quote is merely an extension how some people feel about life when it comes at them fast. It’s as genuine and as abrupt of a realization one can have.

Despite that, there are still not only plenty of reasons to live, but there are plenty of reasons to be prepared for your loved ones to take care of things you can’t speak on anymore or have any input on because, well, you’re dead. On top of that, it gives a person an opportunity to learn. It gives a person an opportunity to plan post-life circumstances, how to approach death, planning a funeral, a will, all of the stuff that comes along with post-life. Admittedly, this idea came from the courage of Mark Trible, one of the best writers and thinkers in the universe and someone who did this in the middle of 2015 (1). His story, his words, and his vision provides what this is all about.

Get busy living, or get busy dying

Embracing death