Live Before you Die by Davina Herbert

Recently, I heard someone say people are afraid of dying but in fact, most people are more afraid of living.  That got me reviewing my own life.  There is a certain truth to that for me.  There are many times in my life when I have preferred to play it ‘safe’ rather than to have adventures.  I overthink things rather than going with my gut instinct.  When I look at my animal companions, I see them live their lives fully.  They jump and run and have fun.  Even the older members of our animal family still like to run and have fun – if they don’t run as smoothly as they did when they were younger.  They might live shorter lives, but they live fuller lives than most of us humans. 

If I want to live my life more fully, then I need to get out of my comfort zone.  When I look at my animal companions, I see them maintain a curiosity and a playfulness about life.  That is something that I sometimes forget to do.  As an adult human there are a lot of mundane tasks in my life that don’t bring me joy.  When I focus on the mundane, I forget to have fun and to celebrate.  One of the universal laws is that what you focus on expands.  When I can change my focus to look at what joy and celebration I can have in my life, then more opportunities for celebration occur. 

I have started to go regularly to a nice restaurant near where I live.  The food is good and it’s a really pleasant night out.  Whilst I love the animal children and their company, it’s also nice to have adult company.  Going out to dinner regularly is getting out of my comfort zone.  I used to do it a lot in the past.  In more recent times I have gotten in the habit of being at home.  In fact, I often struggle to leave home to do simple things like go to the grocery store.  I know that we need groceries, but I like being at home with the animals and don’t like to go out.  Yet I am also aware that I am getting a bit ‘stale’ when I am mostly at home and that I also need to be active and have new experiences. 

What sort of world do you wish to live in?  It all starts with you.  Do you want to live in a world where you are mired in chores and not living?  Are you just marking time until (I get older/ I have more money/  I have a partner/ I die ….).  One day you will run out of time.  I found that out with my mare, Ms Doll.  I kept telling her that one day we would ride together again.  Now that she has passed, I can only ride with her in my memories and imagination.  Moment by moment, what are you choosing?  Are you choosing to live or choosing to die? 

Like to know more about animal wisdom? Purchase a copy of Davina’s best-selling book, “Dancing with Doll – Life and Leadership Lessons Learnt through Accessing Animal Wisdom” on her website https://bit.ly/3N1yaCD