Blog - Life-Savor.com

Destination and Compass

Every traveler knows the difference between a destination and a compass. The destination tells you where you hope to end up. The compass keeps you moving in the right direction along the way. Life requires both. Without a destination, you drift. Without a compass, you get lost. Together, they give you clarity and confidence for the journey.

Given and Created Treasures

Life hands us treasures in two distinct ways. Some are given: they arrive without our effort, woven into the structure of existence itself. Others are created: they emerge from our own hands, imaginations, and labors. Together, these two streams make up the bounty of being alive.

Human Sentiment

Most animals live by instinct. They hunt, nest, mate, and protect. Humans do these things too, but then we do something else: we seek to understand. And even further, we step back and ask, What does it mean? A wolf may defend its territory, but it doesn’t write songs about belonging. A dolphin may leap for joy, but it doesn’t wonder what joy is for. We are the creatures who not only live, but reflect on life — and that reflection awakens something new: sentiment.

A Personal Mission: Falling Awake to Life

For as long as I can remember, that’s how I’ve felt about life. Not always in the form of bliss or ease, but as a steady undercurrent of awe. Awe at the sunrise over a mountain ridge, at the fact that I get to love and be loved, at the sheer strangeness of being conscious for a while in a universe of mostly unconscious matter. Life, I’ve come to believe, is not just to be lived. It is to be savored.

A Mortality Awareness Triad

It’s a paradox that takes a moment to sink in. The very fact of our mortality is what makes us blessed. Out of all the trillions of combinations of atoms that never existed in human form—you exist. You not only exist, but you exist with awareness, memory, imagination, and the ability to savor.

Life Is a Once-in-Eternity Gift

Every human life is a once-in-eternity chance. The atoms that make you will never again assemble in quite this way. This moment, this breath, this chance to savor existence — it is yours alone. Never to be duplicated. It’s easy to forget. Life’s ordinariness dulls us, its hardships weary us, its routines put us to sleep. But beneath the blur of familiarity lies something astonishing: we exist at all.

The Mirage of Numbing

When life grows heavy, numbing calls to us like a mirage. A drink to quiet the nerves. A screen to scroll the hours away. A purchase to fill the hollow. A burst of workaholism to silence the questions. For a moment, numbing seems to help. The ache dulls. The noise fades. But then the mirage evaporates, and we find ourselves not refreshed but emptier, further from the wellspring of life.

How Do We Stay Sane Enough to Love Life?

Okay, Mr. Life Savor: yes, life is a gift. But it’s also a trial. Bills come due, bodies ache, relationships fray, accidents strike, and headlines darken our minds. Even when fortune smiles, stress and worry find their way in. So the question arises: how do we stay sane enough to keep loving life?

The Human Gift of Appreciation

As human beings, we carry a peculiar burden and a singular gift. The burden is volition: we must choose to live. We can drift, we can despair, we can even decide not to carry on. But the gift is appreciation: we can pause, look around, and see that life itself is worth choosing.

The Meaning of Independence

When people hear the word independence, they often picture rebellion. A teenager slamming the bedroom door. A lone wolf snarling at the pack. A hermit cut off from the world. But that’s not the independence I mean. Independence is not defiance for its own sake, nor is it isolation from others. True independence is subtler and more profound: it is the dignity of authorship over your one and only life.