Recently I was talking with a close friend who is about to go back to school in order to enact a big career change. Why? He’s not passionate about his current job. He said, “Life is too short to do a job you hate.”

My friend and I are both 26 years-old. Lord willing and guessing by the average life expectancy, he and I are currently about 1/4 through our lives. (Life expectancy of an American male is 75 years. Contrast that with Cameroon where male life expectancy is 50 years.) At our age we’ve spent most our time in education and a short while in what may be the beginning of a fulfilling career. But even at our age we’re beginning to see that life is short. That’s partly why I’m thrilled to be involved with Wycliffe, serving a master and task I’m passionate about; and also partly why my friend is changing careers.

On this realization and as a sort of inside joke, Emily and I have begun making a mental list of things that we feel like life is too short to do. They’re not as deep or meaningful as you might be expecting.

Life is too short to use somebody else’s tea mugs.
We sold nearly all our belongings when we moved to Dallas in July. We did, however, keep a box of our favorite tea mugs and coffee cups, cups that represent us. The apartment where we’re currently living is fully furnished. When we moved in, the cupboards were stocked with standard plain, white mugs. No character, no representation of anybody or anything. We initially left ours boxed up and used these white-washed beverage tombs…until last week we realized that life is too short to use somebody else’s tea mugs. We do prefer ours after all.

Life is too short to listen to music (or commercials!) you don’t enjoy.
Change the station!

Life is too short not to have kids.
=)

What’s on your list? Earlier today Emily tried saying that life is too short to not eat at the Waffle House. That’s debatable. But we did agree that life is too short not to eat food you enjoy.

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