Live a Life Full of Love and No Regrets by Experiencing Everything

It's a privilege to be here-don't waste the opportunity.

My sleeping partner, my granddaughter, and I share a bed when she visits without her mother. Isabelle has trouble letting go of the day because she has so many questions that can't wait until tomorrow. That means I have to stay awake longer than I'm accustomed to. My tiredness doesn’t dampen her resistance. After I massage her entire body, she succumbs, and I turn off the light.

The nightlight illumines the room, even though I like it pitch black. My sleep is punctuated with elbows, knees, and pointy toes digging into my soft parts. I move closer to the edge of the bed, but then so does she.

I wake up automatically at my usual time and tiptoe out of the room. I am violating my promise to wake Izzy if I get up before her. I need a few minutes of quiet and coffee, which is foreign to her. She doesn't need quiet or coffee.

She blinks, rubs sleep from her eyes, yawns, and stretches. She sits on my lap as her life force takes over her body. Any minute now, she'll be ready to meet the day.

"Gigi, do you want to play with me?"

I don't remember the last time I woke up exuberant and ready to play.

When did I lose that? You know, that spark that excites you to take on the day.

The first time it happened was probably when I had to wake up in the dark to catch the bus to high school, a mean thing to do to a child of 14. I had just begrudgingly packed away my Barbies to transform into a high school freshman. My morning commute involved riding two buses packed with people going to their jobs, looking quite miserable.

For years of school and career, I was often too tired to wake up with enthusiasm. My frenemy, the snooze button, delayed the inevitable.

Life's frantic pace wore me down, and I longed for the next time I could rest in my bed again.

I spent years exhausted. The nights were too short, and the days of getting up and grinding were infinite. Waking up was the chore, but going to bed was the prize.

Things have changed for the better now. I don't have to get up early, yet I do it anyway, following my body’s signals. I go to bed when I’m tired, which is earlier than I want. Again, my body lets me know.

Going to bed and waking up are equal in importance.

But where is my exuberance?

I'm 60 now, and I’ve witnessed life’s brutality. The recent death of a friend's 37-year-old son is an intense reminder.

Tomorrow is not promised.

I have to change how I look at things again.

Going to bed is the best.

Waking up is awesome.

Spending the day learning, writing, cleaning, shopping, and interacting with loved ones is everything.

If you don’t have twelve minutes to watch the video below, I’ll tell you what Sadhguru says about your life’s purpose and, spoiler alert-it’s a doozy.

Life has no purpose.

You can stop looking for one now. You can just be you - a householder. No need to meditate all day at the river or climb Mt. Everest, unless it makes you feel your aliveness.

Knowing there is no purpose to life is a relief because it allows us to be content with just being.

I’ve done formal education, a career, raised a family, and been a caregiver to my parents. I’d like to follow my curiosity and try more things. I can do it grumpy or with exuberance, like Isabelle.

It’s a privilege to be alive.

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and do that, because what the world needs is more people who come alive.

Howard Thurman