Frivolously Important
©2016 Scott D. Wilson“Life is far too important to ever take seriously.” –Oscar Wilde & me
I distinctly remember when these words first came to me. I was in a church parking lot talking to a friend one evening when they came to my mind and I spoke them aloud to him. I decided then and there that they would be part of my life motto. It was a few months later that I found that Oscar Wilde had sort of beaten me to the punch; he had said “…life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.” Time and the internet morphed his words and you will find the quote above attributed to him.
I will tell you why I think this statement is important. First of all, it is paradoxical. I have found that the most profound truths live in paradoxes. Consider “Love you neighbour as yourself.” That is a profound paradox concerning the balance between the selfish and the selfless. Another paradox, the most valuable things in life are free: life, family and friends. Where you find a paradox you will likely find valuable wisdom. My quote today is of equal significant. This life is important. It is deeply and extremely important and not to be treated lightly. That is all the more reason not to kill it with seriousness. The one thing that virtually everyone, including myself, takes too seriously is ourselves.
All our problems seem larger than life, everything we do seems all important. Our successes and failures are all-consuming. We invest huge amounts of serious time and emotion into ourselves. And when life upsets our apple cart we react as if the world itself was ending. We fail to put our existence into perspective. We fail to see ourselves as brief unique miracle in the vast timeline of human history. We take for granted our very existence, forgetting the world before our birth and neglecting the reality after our inevitable death.
As we strive towards success in life let us remember the sacred preciousness of our lives and treat ourselves less seriously. Imagine that you had a mission of utmost importance that required you to drive for several days across America from one coast to the next. There would be long hours in the close quarters of a vehicle, and cramped nights in the dingy rooms of roadside motels. Would you choose serious and sombre companions or would you bring along some cheerful, light-hearted and humorous friends? Your life from cradle to grave is the most important journey that you will ever take. Keep it joyful. Don’t take it too seriously.
