You have been gifted

In life, there are thousands of lessons to learn, but one of the hardest is to learn to value and appreciate every single day of your life. People often morph into creatures of habit living each day as if it is scripted, doing the minimum to get by and complaining just about everything. “My job sucks, my life sucks, this day is lame, I wish it were Friday.” You hear these comments from people throughout the week and it’s as if they wish they could fast forward through life just to get to the good parts.

Luckily, you have them all beat. You have been given the gift of knowledge that makes you a far more complete person than they are. In reality, we are all terminally ill because in the end, no one survives life. It’s just that the time we have varies from person to person… but that’s nothing compared to the QUALITY of the life you live.

Think of it this way, what good is living to be a hundred if you’re bitter, hate life, stop learning and continually settle. Now think of living half that time but being productive, being loved, writing, making music, surfing, loving, having a family, helping people and whatnot. The quality of those 50 years far eclipse someone who achieved the milestone of reaching a century’s worth of life… because it was a bitter century.

Some of the people who live life to the fullest are people who have been diagnosed with what in reality is the most real deadline any of us could ever be given. The veil has been taken off and the illusion of conformity is destroyed, replaced by the reality of how much you want to live. Adverse events have that way of impacting our lives.

In the life of Jesse Billauer, it took an accident at Pipeline when he was 17. Rendered quadriplegic, most people would be bitter with their life. Jesse accepted his situation, adapted his life and didn’t take no for an answer. With the help of a strong support group and unwavering faith in himself and his beliefs, he still surfs. Don’t take my word for it, check the links below.

www.jessebillauer.com

http://www.liferollson.org/site/pp.asp?c=egLLKTNJE&b=79269

Here’s Jesse chargin:

Motorcross superstar, Travis Pastrana knows the value of life from what happened to his friend Matt Bigos. Because of Travis driving irresponsibly, he crashed his car leaving his friend paralyzed. After being told he wouldn’t walk again, Matt showed what he thought of those diagnoses… even in his condition, he does Iron Men triathlons and shows that nothing and no one is going to tell him what he can or can’t do. He also forgave Travis and told him things just happen.

Check his blog at www.mattbigos.blogspot.com

Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham was born with Spina Bifida, which means he’s probably wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. His response? Becoming the pioneer of freestyle wheeling, landing air 360s, double backflips, and a superman air… all on a wheelchair.

 

Check out his site: http://www.aaronfotheringham.com/

These people didn’t take no for an answer, they didn’t give up and they didn’t let days slip by without doing what they loved. How many people do you know who can say this? How many healthy people? How many people with a smart phone, with Internet, with endless amounts of possessions and heaps of money?

In my personal experience my aunt was diagnosed with AIDS and my father was diagnosed with cancer. Instead of crumbling under the pressures of treatment and pain, my aunt published a book and spoke to people to create awareness and offer support. My father rekindled lost faith, prayed and finally broke down years of emotional barriers to finally show outwardly how much he cared for his family and in those 6 years he told me he loved me more than the rest of my life combined. If that isn’t worth more than 100 bitter years of life, then I don’t know what is.

Unlike countless millions, you have been given the gift of knowledge. You have been exposed to the one undeniable truth that binds all of us and which is your mission to share with everyone you come into contact with and it can be summed up in 5 words:

Every day is a gift

So my best to you and always remember to keep your head high because in everything, life is about quality not quantity.

Cheers,

JDJ

Injured in perfection

So no one likes to get sick, or get injured. That's more than natural because we should all be trying to be enjoying ourselves creating memories that will compensate for the endless hours we invest in our respective dayjob torture. Being a surfer has its definite pluses but also has its drawbacks.

On the positive side, surfing is liberating, fun, exercise, good for your health, great for the soul and something I plan on doing as long as I am able to. The negative side is that it depends on weather conditions often times and getting the right tide, the right swell, the right wind direction and the right rhythm for your surfing is not exactly easy. Which makes getting injued when it's epic that much more painful.

Last Sunday I was at the beach, the conditions were blissful to put it lightly and I'm bummed at myself for not having gotten up sooner (who knows if I would have been able to avoid the injury). But I was going to make the most of it. First wave, a bit tentative and got barreled..... on a tentative wave... so you can imagine the smile, the satisfaction and the idea that I was going to get my fix and then some... then something happened... call it silly, odd, stupid, unfair, illogical or just plain bad luck but when I was going back out, look towards my right while paddling and there went my neck... a spasm as I'd never felt before because it wasn't massive but it definitely felt wrong and I thought it would pass..... which it hasn't, and it's been more than 24 hours since the event.

I insisted on staying out and took five more waves which probably aggravated the injury but I didn't care because I was about to cry. Even with a bum neck, I got two more barrels an air and a roll.... that last one really sucked for my neck.

As I sit here, writing against what's probably best for me because I'm too desperate to continue laying in bed, I ask myself if this is just the first of a series of injuries and physical setbacks, because I'm not old, but I'm not getting younger.

I also realize that not being at work really doesn't bother me that much and I totally understand that I'm just there to earn a living even if it's the first job I actually enjoy. But the thing that bugs me is that I didn't get hurt when surf sucked, when I was shopping, when I was working or any other situation where it would have hurt less... no, I got hurt when it was epic and the conditions I've been begging for months upon months. I get to realize that it's not fate, or life, or anything working against me, it's just something that happened but like most humanity, I need to attribute some extra meaning to the event simply because of the circumstances and because you at least want an answer of why something like that has to happen, even if it's a little blip in the grand scheme of life.

And I guess it just helps me put things in perspective. Why should I get hung up on one moment, if my entire life is but a blip that I really should make the most of.

Just something to think about.

Cheers

Life is too short to go this fast

If you think about the rate at which we live at, well you'd realize that there are no first or second gears. Everything is third on up, everything is on turbo and life is squandered day by day by being in a constant state of rush. That we survive every day is a miracle in itself, that we do it, living, reacting, acting, deciding and multitasking at the speed we do is just beyond comprehension.

In an average day we see at least 400 attempts at someone selling us something. Think that number is overblown, then just count the outdoor media you come in contact with and realize that the real number is probably twice as much. We get assaulted with messages from all sides, at all times and it won't be long before air conditioners come equipped with discount models that offer adverts while you sleep. From cars to margarine and anything in between, before and after, we are being pitched at non-stop.

Add to that the amount of tasks we accomplish in a week and if you break it down task by task you realize that you're just one little machine pumping instant tasks like some hot dog machine. It gets to a point where we almost seem automated. Before long we start forgetting random things because we're so hellbent on doing things faster and faster that we're not even sure if we registered correctly. Don't quite get where I'm getting at? Well let's have a quiz. Answer the following 20 questions and below you will see a point scale that will correllate to your supposed level of disconnection with your life. Don't look for answers, don't double check, just answer or try to answer the questions. If you can, that's a point in your favor, if you find yourself struggling to answer any of these questions, well you don't earn anything. Give yourself five to ten seconds to answer the question, if you take more, it doesn't count. Let's see how you do.

1. What did you have for lunch?

2. What color socks did you have on during the day?

3. When was the last time you cut your toenails?

4. What's your social security number?

5. Do you question if you closed your house door, garage door or stove on at least three times a week?

6. Have you woken up on, showered, gotten dressed and ready for work only to realize it's Saturday?

7. When was the last time you spoke to your parents?

8. When is your mother's birthday?

9. When is your anniversary?

10. Off the top of your head, what were the last five movies you saw in the theater?

11. What songs have you listened to today?

12. What did you watch on tv last time you sat in front of the tube?

13. Do you watch tv, listen to music, facebook and skype at the same time?

14. When is your own birthday?

15. When was the last time you washed your car?

16. What do you weigh?

17. What size shoe are you?

18. What shampoo do you use?

19. When was the last time you changed your tooth brush?

20. How many times have you dialed your extension or your ATM card number into your microwave?


RESULTS:

20-17 points: You are fairly well grounded. You don't believe in the zodiac horoscope and you're aware of your surroundings.

16-12 points: Might have a little pecadillo regarding multitasking, but you are still functional.

11-7 points: You were an overachieving C student that got B's based on luck, cramming and cosmic energies unknown to you.

6-3 points: You can barely tie your own shoes, your life is the lost remote control in the sofa.

2-1 points: You manage to stay alive because lady luck is generous.

0 points: how did you even get to the end of this post.


So next time someone insists on being in a hurry, let them pass and take the time to realize life can really let you pass it by.

Cheers