The Substance of Our Lives - First Things

Other nights found a group of us on the dining room deck, sipping whiskey with the assistant director of the camp, Mo, a Stanford alum taking a break from his English PhD, and discussing literature and the weighty matters of postadolescent life. The next year he returned to his PhD, and later he sent me his first published short story, summing up o

On my previous path, I was more than on my way to a magical retirement number but was also making great progress in undermining the spontaneity, creativity, and energy that would enable me to enjoy life once I got there.

What is it that most lights you up, that you would be most happy to have given your vital energies to, before you die? As Cat Stevens asks, “What will you leave us this time?”

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. (“Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.”) 2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. 3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. (“Many people suppressed