“It comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living. Or get busy dying.”
Those words echo toward the end of the Shawshank Redemption. Words spoken by Tim Robbins’ character as he sits in prison for a murder he did not commit as he talked with Morgan Freeman’s character.
Not too much longer, Freeman’s character, free on parole echoes the words.
“Get busy living. Or get busy dying. That’s goddamn right.”
Over the past year and change, I’ve worked to get myself into better health. I’m not where I need or fully want to be yet – lots more weight to lose and still needing to control the diabetes much better, but I’m on the right path.
Now it’s time to work on other things to go with that.
The area in which I live – central New York – has so much to offer. There are amazing things to see and do and places to get outdoors and explore.
If you expand a bit – into Northeast Pennsylvania, for example, the activities and opportunities become even more.
I love the outdoors. I love the indoors as well, don’t get me wrong. I mean a night of television or messing on the computer is a good time, but being outdoors is a lot of fun and it doesn’t require going through the middle of woods, bushwhacking, and things like that.
Instead, there are wonderful trails to wander and see; nature to enjoy and photograph; and plenty of wildlife to see and admire. There are man made and natural made areas that are amazing to the eyes. And though my interest in the bulk of geocaching has waned recently, there are plenty of them to find out in the woods. I’d like to explore some bike trails, too, and just wander along and enjoy the atmosphere. I’m looking to eventually invest in a bike rack/kayak rack for my car, as well as a kayak. That would be something I’d like to do more in the warmer months.
And I never will forget about baseball in the summer!
There are urban developments with some fantastic museums and activities not far away. There are ways to broaden your horizons and see different things within a semi-quick car ride. Breweries and great places to eat are everywhere now. There’s definitely things to do.
So maybe it’s time to start doing things like this.
One thing I really want to get back into is more photography. Because I do it so much during my professional day, I tend not to take my main camera when out and about. I mean, the iPhone is a wonderful tool – it really is. But I miss using the camera and different lenses… or pushing things to see what I can create. Especially when it comes to things like waterfalls and covered bridges, and other items that really interest me.
In the grand scheme of things, life is short. Even if you are one of the lucky ones who lives to 100 or a bit more, that’s just a speck of time when considering how long some form of life has been on Earth. So while you are here, see things. Do things. Live things.
I can’t say I’m always going to follow this mantra. I’m just as guilty of plopping down on the couch for some television or hours online. But if I’m going to do that – I need to make sure I’m balanced and I get out and see some wonderful things as well.
My DayZero list is a start.
On January 1, 2019, I started my third round with the DayZero Project. I have on it more than the 101 goals because I need to trim. I’ve looked to see what is something that can be done – be it hard or not – as compared to dreams. This is a starting point as some of it gets me outdoors.
I have life goals and life plans and hopes – all of which intermingle with one another. But as the two characters in the Shawshank Redemption noted – get busy living, or get busy dying.
In the past couple of months or so, I think I’ve gotten busy living – at least in some aspects. And my mental being seems to be doing much better. But there’s still a lot to grow from and I look forward to trying to do more (to be fair, it’s much easier to do in warmer weather).
The world is a wonderful place if you find the right angle. Now get out and find it.
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