{Thoughtful Thursday} Mary Oliver

"Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

- Mary Oliver

If I hear the term YOLO one more time, I might just throw an unabridged dictionary. Obviously you only live once. Unless, of course, you believe in reincarnation, in which case you may as well just take your time with everything. My point is, tossing this phrase in the face of anyone who encourages you to make rational decisions is sort of beleaguering. Recently I spoke to a girl who encountered trouble with a possessive, manipulative, much older guy. She wasn't sure whether she should break it off or continue to date him. The majority of other friends who took part in our heart-to-heart told her off the bat that if she didn't move forward with him, she'd never know if she could have had a great relationship. They insisted that she had the opportunity to change him for the better, and explained her (um, absolutely logical) worries away with "Hey, you only live once! Might as well go for it!"

That particular situation is a prime example of how dangerous such a mindset can be. It is due to such lack of cerebral decision-making that I dislike hearing people say "YOLO" at only a moment's perspective glance. However. Mary Oliver's poem "Summer Day" ends with the above words that I consider especially impelling. I first saw this quote on my granny's refrigerator door several years ago and didn't really think about it until I'd passed by it enough times to actually pay attention. This theory can truly make for a profitable way of life if implemented properly. 

Humans are intended to learn and progress. I emphasize that idea often because of its primary role in my own life. Living inside a shell is always more detrimental than wholesome, and mental and physical health improve when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and even take premeditated risks. Think of the stock market - you'll get nowhere if you just sit on your stocks, but a smart investor does his homework before he concentrates his entire life savings into McDonald's. Many, many, many times have I benefited from stepping out on a limb or jumping off a cliff. The only difference between my leaps and those of all my YOLO-obsessives is that mine do not generally involve 80-foot-high geographical dropoffs. Something to consider?