Sept 11, 2024–Have you written your obituary?
Believe it or not, that was an assignment I gave to my 6th grade gifted students.
The point was to nudge them to think about how they hoped to use the gifts they possessed over their lifetimes, to not take them for granted.
It was not well-received. We don’t like to think of our impending mortality. Yet Mozart used that foreshadowing to spur him on to greater creativity:
“As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years such close relationships with this best and truest friend of mankind that death’s image is not only no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling, and I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity… of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness. I never lie down at night without reflecting that —- young as I am — I may not live to see another day. Yet no one of all my acquaintances could say that in company I am morose or disgruntled.
-Letter to his father, Leopold Mozart, 1787 (Mozart died four years later)
Back in the classroom, I was not exactly modeling best behavior. There I was, approaching my 30s and teaching elementary students in a small town in the Midwest. But that assignment forced me to consider how I was using my energy, time, and talent.
So I created a scale of how we spend our time. It ranged from living in Anxiety and Fear to being Creative:
- Anxiety–Fear of the unknown
- Fear–Reliving past failures
- Distraction–“Busy-ness”
- Boredom–Seeking entertainment
- Contentment–Seeking pleasure
- Observing–Hearing, seeing the world as it is
- Experiencing–Participating in the world as it is
- Creating–Putting something new into the world
I recently shared this online and asked people to say where they spent most of their time. I was intrigued by the responses. Everyone saw themselves at the Experiencing/Creating stage. That either shows we are more mindful than we appear, or that we are in denial about how we really spend our days.
I suspect most of us gravitate toward the Boredom/Contentment section of the spectrum. It is so hard to escape the inertia of satisfying our basic needs and being comfortable there. Some days I think we are no more evolved than amoebae, oozing toward food and pleasure, avoiding pain and light.
Looking back, my own goals at the time were pedestrian. I wanted to teach, play music, write, travel, and live in a warm state.
.So I did all of those things
Now I wonder if we all need to dream a little more ambitiously. Why couldn’t I have wanted to walk on the moon, solve cold fusion, or unlock the secret to enlightenment?
Maybe it’s not too late.
It’s OK to be content, but vital to keep creating.
XXX
Phil Houseal has fulfilled his ambitions of being a writer and owner of Full House PR. Contact him at phil@fullhouseproductions.net, www.FullHousePR.com.