50 Reasons To Live, Because You’re Not At The End Of Your Story (You’re At The Beginning)
1. The only thing guaranteed in life is change. Whatever is difficult now (whatever seems impossible now) will change. Every winter turns into spring. Every storm runs out of rain, eventually.
2. The one story every culture in the world agrees on is that the time a person feels it is impossible to go on ends up being the most important time in their life. It’s the hero’s journey. “If it weren’t for hitting “rock bottom” I never would have had this amazing hill of life to climb back up.”
3. Another thing everyone says (and everyone says it because they’ve found it to be true, there’s very little chance you are the singular exception) is that they’ve been able to find beauty in their struggle. What began as a challenge because the impetus for finding their purpose. “Without Voldemort, Harry Potter is a very ordinary boy.”
4. You are not at the end of your story. You are at the beginning.
5. You get to experience simple pleasures like taking a deep breathe when you get home, curling up under a blanket when it’s cold, seeing a sunrise/sunset, or taking a long, hot shower when you’ve had a bad day.
6. Life is full of second chances. “Samuel Jackson struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction early on in his career. It was so detrimental to his ability to act and function, he was replaced in two different Broadway productions. He tried supporting himself by working as a camera stand-in for Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show and performing in random on-stage productions in New York, but he was never fully able to kick his addiction until he was 41. Literally the day after he left rehab, he started work on Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever. He was 46 when he was cast in Pulp Fiction.”
7. Dogs.
8. No one else in the world is passionate about the same combination of things you are. You are here to explore and breathe life into those things.
9. You never know what tomorrow will bring. How many times have you been upset about a problem at 2am only to feel differently about it after a good night’s sleep? Perspective makes the impossible feel possible.
10. You have a story to tell.
11. You have the ability to make other’s laugh.
12. People who have struggled with depression are more compassionate, empathetic, and caring than the general public. More than anyone, you know how much the world needs more people who treat others well and go out of their way to make them feel loved.
13. Dirty jokes.
14. The feeling when someone says or does something so funny that everyone present laughs so hard they struggle not to pee their pants and no one can stop laughing.
15. The opportunity to grow up, live life, travel, learn and become wise.
16. The beauty of someone saying they are there for you. Even if they don’t know how to help, a world in which people care about others enough to want to sit with them through their hard times is a beautiful world to live in.
17. Watching stand-up on YouTube.
18. Music.
19. Because it’s not over until it’s over. “The cross looked like a huge win for the Romans.”
20. To prove them wrong.
21. To be able to see the kids in your life grow into real people with their own thoughts, opinions and feelings.
22. Because there are places in the world you still want to see.
23. Seeing the northern lights.
24. Feeling the hot sun on your skin.
25. One day after a long winter, the sun will come out and you will remember that spring is coming. The sun comes out in people’s lives after dark nights of the soul, too.
26. Dumb blonde jokes.
27. Seeing a shooting star.
28. Kittens.
29. Driving in your car listening to music when the perfect song comes on.
30. Vines. Not just because they are funny but because they show the human spirit is to laugh at how ridiculous and impossible life can be.
31. The potential for starting over. If you don’t like where you are, you can build something new. “Anyone has a right to run away.”
32. Having an inside joke with someone.
33. Twinkle lights.
34. The realization that the hard experiences you go through are what your soul needs most.
35. Life has meaning, even when it is difficult or unpleasant.
36. Sometimes our only job is to survive until the point where it doesn’t feel like work to survive.
37. Cuddling.
38. Making art.
40. Hot chocolate.
41. Super corny jokes.
42. The way that when you tell someone someone you are scared to tell them because they might judge you, they usually respond with “I’ve been there too” instead.
43. Baby animals.
44. Finishing a good book.
45. You have one little life. It’s worth throwing everything you have at it.
46. Sand between your toes.
47. Finding something that inspires you.
48. Singing in the shower.
49. A very long hug from someone you love.
50. To be able to see yourself make the world a better place in whatever way you choose to do that. 