Imagining a Bonus Round

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

I often imagine life as a path that we are following.  Sometimes the way is straightforward, other times it is uphill and strewn with obstacles.  We may be able to see far ahead, or maybe the way is dark and spooky.  One thing for certain is that there is an eventual end to this path, but no map telling us exactly where that is.

What if at the end of life, we were magically given the choice to start again (or maybe in the middle), just for fun.  Like winning money that you can spend however you want.  Imagine: what if right now we were living in a bonus round, and the future had already happened?

From this perspective, I dug deep and thought about how I would really want to spend my life, imagining that this was all extra, free time.

My first thought was that I would want to hang out with people who are important to me, especially those I know I might lose sooner.  It also feels like I would want to help others (including plants and animals) whenever I can because it makes me feel much richer than just focusing on myself. I would also trust my own instincts because I would have less fear (after all, I’ve already died and this is just a bonus).  I also would want to be outside as much as possible, just seeing, feeling, smelling and hearing – not inside my head thinking and worrying. Already did that in the first round.  And I would be incredibly grateful I get to be alive, again!

In the grand scheme of things, if we imagine we have nothing to lose, what matters most?  I think that on a path with an inevitable end, we might as well enjoy the scenery and be kind to others.  If we imagine we had a chance to live again, we might stop to smell the flowers, and maybe draw them.  And we might invite a friend to join us.

Image:  Winter Walk