I wished to live deliberately...

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived … I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms..."

Henry David Thoreau

Recently, I had a bicycle accident that got everyone talking. The wound on my arm is rather nasty. I had not cycled for a long time and I did not have a proper bicycle but one day, my elder prince asked me to cycle with him, suggesting that I took his bike while he took his brother's. On impulse, I went along. I had forgotten how exhilarating it was to wheel down a slope and feel the wind in your hair. I had much fun but alas, I passed a narrow path and hit an aluminium wall at a construction site and scraped off more skin than I could bear. The pain I suffered from this accident lasted for days and I suspect there would be a scar.

At first, I regretted going for that bike trip but upon reflection, it gave me and my prince much joy, so it was worth it. I also realised that I had more wounds and bruises during this half year of hiatus than I had in my entire adult life. Then, it dawned on me that when you live life fully, you will have more chances of falling, literally and metaphorically. And falling is good. Not leading a perfectly well-planned and safe life felt good. And that is what I have done in the last half a year - I have climbed mountains, numbed my feet in the icy spring water, bathed naked in the open alps, acted silly in public with my kids, got cuts and bruises from water slides, cycling, cooking and challenged myself with new things like creating a blog, exploring the unknown, etc. Living life to the fullest does not mean perpetual happiness and comfort. It means you have made the decicion to live life deliberately and passionately, without fear and hesitation.

I love the movie, Dead Poets' Society where the above quote was uttered. Sometimes chasing one's dreams can be extremely hard but what is life if we allow others to dictate how we should live it? It's good not to work once in a while for it is when we are still that we are able to think clearly what we want out of life and appreciate life as it is, without the complications of materialism and human politics. I will always remember this half a year of my life in 2008 when I 'went to the woods...'