Live Your Life
Live your life
I love this prose written by Chief Tecumseh. It’s become a manifesto of sorts for my life.
Reading this, it’s no wonder you see it adopted into the ethos by many warrior cultures and mindsets in fitness, the military and law enforcement.
When I read this piece, I am inspired to take full advantage of every minute or every day. We are not promised tomorrow, but we do have today. So, while you are still breathing and thinking and feeling, don’t waste your time on meaningless and frivolous thoughts and activities. Instead, have a purpose and make sure you are spending every day working toward that purpose, so you have nothing to regret and no fear of death.
Imagine what you can accomplish when you remove fear from the equation!
“Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life”- WOW! How profound is that line?! Those 12 words could be the most succinct advice for a lifetime of happiness I’ve read (outside of the Bible)! I love how this line both challenges and inspires. It is your life, if you don’t like it, the onus is on you to change it. You have the power to do that- spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. Inspect your mindset and your actions. If you don’t like who or what you see in the mirror, resolve to perfect those things that need focus. In the process, “Beautify all things in your life”- be someone who walks into a room and lights it up. Be someone who sees the potential in others and help them see it within themselves. Make an effort to leave a situation, an environment, an engagement, an interaction better than you found it.
“Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people”- How can you bless and serve others? Look for opportunities to use your God-given talents, skills and giftedness to help and serve others. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get by helping others. If ever you are attending a pity party and need a sure-fire fix to remedy the situation, go out and help someone else. Serve at Church, an after-school activity mentoring kids, volunteering at an outreach center, homeless shelter, student ministry, Scouts, or any other group whose mission is to help others. You will be amazed at how that action reframes the optics of your “problems”. What seemed daunting, impossible, unbearable, excruciating, painful, annoying, overbearing, oppressive or whatever adjective that described your initial challenge will now seem, manageable, possible, bearable, less painful, conquerable.
As we move ahead in the piece, I’m drawn to the great advice on daily routine and morning gratitude. “When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself”. If you can find no reason for giving thanks, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! Life is an action verb. It is meant to be lived and you were made to be the Captain of your soul. If you don’t like something about your life, CHANGE IT. You were designed by the Creator for a purpose and that purpose wasn’t to be miserable! His purpose for you was to experience love, to feel joy, to know peace, to have patience, to be kind, to be good, to live in community with others and be loyal to our commitments. If you need help in resetting your mindset and the lens in which you view your life (and the world), start with a simple exercise of writing down 3 things you are thankful (grateful) for each morning and again just before you lay down to sleep. Commit to doing this for 30 days and see if your outlook on life changes. You are in control of your thoughts, and “you become what you think about all day long” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). CHOOSE JOY AND GRATITUDE!
“When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way”… Live a life of adventure, filled with love and joy.
“Sing your death song and die like a hero going home”. When it’s your time to die, go knowing that you made an impact in the world. As you look back at what you’ve done, you see a highlight reel. Know you have left the world a better place and you leave a legacy in the lives you have touched.
Here's the piece in its entirety:
“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”
~ Chief Tecumseh