Manifest Destiny

Yesterday, I woke up at a whopping 6:30 a.m.

With my glasses, a pair of basketball shorts, and an "Amazing Blood Donor" shirt that could fit at least two more of me, I made my way to the beach.

My sister has been wanting to do one thing for a while: watch the sunrise over the Atlantic and then drive across Florida in time to watch the sunset over the Gulf. Finally, we did it, and watching that sunrise was completely and totally worth the early morning coffee.

We went from sea to shining sea, Deerfield Beach to Marco Island, like modern day Lewis and Clarks. We followed the sun as it made its way across the world, rising in the East and setting in the West. And the best part is, it was only a two hour drive!

There was a beginning, and there was an end. Alpha and Omega. Birth and Death. And there was the journey in between.

The ocean is immense, and the horizon, endless. Looking on, it's easy to see that in comparison, I'm neither. I have those moments when I stand on the brink of eternity, and maybe I even touch the water, but when the sun sets, I'm still on the shore. It's hard not to feel small.

When I stood next to something seemingly infinite, I realized how limited I really am. God willing, I have my 80+ years to live, and I only have one body with which to live it. Life (capital "L") isn't fragile, and I know that. It's been around for a long time before me and it will be around for a long time to come. But my life? The life of one man in a world with seemingly endless space, time, and brimming with other living things? That's a different story.

People die. It's not an original thought, and I can't say that I'm super surprised. But that realization inevitably means that for the small amount of time that they have, people live too. Yeah, my biological clock is ticking, my lifespan fixed to a date I don't know. But in that moment when I got to sit on the beach surrounded by my family, I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Limits are what make us who we are. The only definition we have is the life we've made for ourselves through the things we've done and the people we chose to share it with. Our legacy is left with the few, and although every impact is finite, it's as unique as we are.

 

What are the chances that out of all the places and times that have come and gone, I would be right here, right now? There are a million of other ways my life could have turned out. If I hadn’t been born into the family I was, or if my brothers weren’t born on the same day. Countless “ifs” could have changed anything and everything. But none of them matter.
All that matters is the specific road I did take, the choices I did make. Call it Fate, God, or Statistics, but I find it amazing any which way.

"Today, you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." (Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!) 

Not that it was ever an option, but I have absolutely no interest in immortality. Having everything means holding on to nothing. It's only when you have a few things, a few truly important people, places, and memories, that you cherish them just as much as your own life. Because that’s exactly what they are.

We all reach that final limit where there is no where else to go, when the sand runs out and it's time to jump in the water. One day, we'll have that last sunset where it's time to go beyond the shore and follow the sun on its way out. But who we meet on the way and what path we take to get there? That's up to us. I may have my limits, but I promise that I'm living fully within every one of them.