They say ‘Yolo’ — ‘you only live once’. But in my opinion, you only die once as you live every day. Every single day, when you open your eyes, you have a brand new canvas in front of you waiting to be splashed with colours. Make it monochrome, if you please, or a vibrant spectrum, it’s entirely your choice.

If asked, ‘do you want to stay alive for a long time?’ Roughly, everybody would respond in affirmation without a second thought. But this question has a deeper connotation to it. Do you really want a long existence? Or is it that you want an actual life instead of a mere existence?

Moving gradually towards your death bed is not at all fun, now is it? Sure, you did witness a possible third World War, outbreak of a deadly pandemic or even the birth of seemingly impossible genetic mutation technology. But what good did that do?

Breathing your last, you may still shed tears pondering over all you could have done, but were too apprehensive to do. Why did you not go on an adventure with your friends? Why did you not venture out in the wild? Why did you keep saving up, leading a life that was way too predictable, even if successful?

Death is inevitable. An aspect so bitterly beautiful, so beautifully bitter. Be it at the tender age of 25 or the wise one of 95. Sooner or later, all of us would leave this world. One way or the other, this will be over. All of this. You would neither have the worldly benisons nor the people beloved to you when that happens. What you’ll have would be nothing but your deeds and memories. A feeling of satisfaction that at least, at the very least, you did manage to get the taste of that electrifying experience. Or a drop of tear leaving you dreadfully broken, facing regret at its finest.

The point is, do it. Just do it. Do whatever your heart tells you, your guts tell you — as long as it is morally and ethically correct. Get your hair dyed a flashy green, treat yourself to that loaded chocolate cake, confess your feelings, meet everyone in your family.

What’s the worst that can happen if you do any of these? No way would it be worse than the regret you’ll run into in otherwise different circumstances.

So live. Live while you still can. Live, before, God forbid, this opportunity is seized from you. Live. Don’t just make your life an existence, make it a life, a life in its pure raw form.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 25th, 2022