Life Lessons

I’ve never been a “Chicken Soup for the Soul” type of person or big on sentimentality.

So when an interviewer asked me to share my “favorite life lesson quote,” my initial reaction was … bleh.

Could I even think of one? I imagined clichés in cross stitch. Treacly Hallmark greeting cards. You get the picture.

But I had to answer the question. I was in full-on promotion mode for The Only Way Through Is Out, my debut memoir. I was an Author. People wanted my “wisdom.”

A lot of pressure.

I wracked my brain for “wisdom” and one of the lines from Mary Oliver’s poem “A Summer Day” came to mind.

A line that shook me to the core in midlife when I was attempting to discern what I wanted my next chapter to look like.

Yes. Somewhere in this question—and in the way I would answer it—was the life lesson that had become my north star.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” has been my guiding light in this chapter of life, which I’m approaching with more intentionality, purpose, and agency than ever before.

My life lesson: Life is a gift.

Don’t take it for granted. Don’t waste it.

If there’s something you’ve been dreaming about doing “someday”—whether it’s writing a book or something completely different—consider taking this as a sign to take action.

I’m grateful I get to spend my days with words—mine and the amazing writers I work with every day. That’s what I plan to do with the rest of my one wild and precious life, as long as I’m able.

How about you?