my personal reflections over the past month have vacillated between denial (since he would have been away until next june anyway) and conviction to live with greater meaning. whether or not the semester theme (UMich liberal arts college) of "what makes life worth living" stems from the utter fragility of life, that notion has permeated my day-to-day decision making as well as broader worldview. given all of life's unexpected (and sometimes unfair) turns, i feel compelled to re-focus my energies on those things that are most important to me and make me happy - not just in the distant future, but today, right now.
in making even the smallest decisions, i ask myself - does this contribute to my life, no matter how meaningful or trivial? am i investing enough into the people, relationships, and activities that truly matter and bring me joy, and not just doing things out of obligation? are my decisions congruent with my core values? am i living my life with conviction?
today, we celebrated sujal's life and the incredible memories, love and accomplishments that encompassed it. looking forward, i seek to continuously celebrate all flavors of life, from the little joys to hard-earned triumphs. after all, what makes life worth living anyway?
This is an awesome post, Alice. Even though I didn't know him, I can definitely say Sujal has impacted me in a similar way. He seemed to be an amazing person, and I only wish I could have met him. Since I learned about him and heard his friends and family talk about who he was, he's inspired me to start to evaluate all I do and that it "truly matters and brings me joy" and it's "not just out of obligation", like you say. I've become less afraid to stand up for what I believe and go after what I want. Thanks, Sujal.
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