I saw a comic strip of Charlie Brown and Snoopy a few days ago that got my thinking.
Charlie Brown: “You only live once.”
Snoopy: “False. You live every day. You only die once.”
Ain’t that the truth, Snoopy!
YOLO – You Only Live Once – is typically a call to live life to its fullest extent, even embracing behavior which carries inherent risk. I know some people find that to be encouraging and perhaps exhilarating; but I find Snoopy’s take to be more inspiring because it urges us to make the most of the time we are given.
Snoopy seems to understand that we should not take life for granted; that we should do good in the world while we are here; that we should make a positive difference while we can; that we should show people that we love them every chance that we get.
Snoopy seems to be calling us to embrace our “right now”, to lead by example, to appreciate what we have, to show love to those who are in need of it, to make every moment count so that when that one day comes, we will have lived a fulfilled life.
If you knew that you wouldn’t wake up tomorrow, how would you live your life differently today?