“Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying”

A profound quote from the 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption is what wrongly-convicted, 20-year prisoner Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins) said to his fellow inmate Red (Morgan Freeman): “Get Busy Living, or Get Busy Dying.”

He went on to tell him in a letter: “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/quotes

Unfortunately, most of us do neither. We are just “busy.”  

We operate unconsciously…in a fog.  Most of our existence consists of looking forward to the future with “one-day-I’m-gonnas.”  Others are so stuck in the past and harboring feelings of “whoa-is-me” and “life is not fair.” Some are so mired in their “woulda-shoulda-couldas” that they become more focused on the past, negativity, regrets and sadness, not realizing how closely they are approaching the end of life.

Basically, all we have is RIGHT NOW. If we don’t begin focusing on & enjoying the here & now, we will be sadly awaiting our eventual demise.

The Bible warns us of this:

Matthew 6:34 (NKJV): “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Quotes to Consider:

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

“The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t waste away your days, waiting for better ones.” – Marjorie Pay Hinckley

“It’s only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis.” – Margaret Bonnano

“Do not wait until you are ready to DIE to truly learn to LIVE.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

One of the ways to motivate us to keep moving forward is HOPE. A great acronym for hope is: Having Only Positive Expectations.

Remember: “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” - unknown

So…let’s GET BUSY LIVING…