I was thinking about that acronym YOLO (you only live once) and wondering if it actually embodied what most people who claim it as their war cry think it embodies. Sure, ultimately, we (theoretically) have just one life to live, but is that really what the emotion is when such people raise it up to drive them forward into adventure or adversity? I rather think that living is done in bursts.
“We really lived it up last night didn’t we!”
“That camping trip was really livin’ it!”
“Surfing those big waves I felt so alive, I truly lived that day.”
It seems to me that YOLO is rather misleading — at least in the way it is used — that is, like a charge into battle, a statement of resolve and commitment (or capricious surrender?). And so, I thought a more accurate acronym would be…
YODO: You Only Die Once.
Now THAT is accurate (as far as we know).
Hmm, then again, the Hindus might argue with me questioning who the ‘you’ was in YODO; is it you this single instance, or is it you the spiritual ‘soul’ or mystical entity that will cycle through this and then an infinite number of universes?
And so my mind began to wander, as it does, and I stepped back from the finality of YODO and considered the concept of Love.
What? Yeah, I know, cynical Anonymole, you think about Love?
Yes, off and on throughout the ages I have pontificated this aspect of humanity. From it, if I open up my mind to its widest possible extent, I can envision a threadbare theory where Love, that nearly inexplicable emotion or state of mind, supersedes the Universe itself. Yeah, deep I know.
If the powers of the Universe, the four binding interactions of physics: gravity, electromagnetic, and the strong and weak nuclear, are the framework, the fabric on which matter and energy and life are sewn, Love seems, at times, to transcend these forces. Now, I’m generally of a mind that we’re just bags of chemistry bobbing and bumbling along with inverted chaos somehow coalescing some semblance of rational order out of the mix-up that is the Universe, but, for a moment I wonder what might extend beyond this wholly rational view. And the only nuance of existence that comes to mind is Love.
Love, it feels, can reverse entropy; can last for ages; can blast through all lost hope; can elevate us beyond existence. If anything in the universe might be a candidate for transcending the Universe I would have to pick Love as the one.
So, yeah, YODO. I’m 99.999% sure. But there’s that .001% that I just can’t seem to quit. I don’t know why. I guess I’m just a romantic at heart (at least a .001% of one.)
Anonymole - apocryphal agitators 
Brilliant work, Anony! Contemplative, passionate, thoughtful. Glad you shared that with me.
I’ve often thought about that concept myself, though didn’t put these words to it. Likewise, folks say “live every day as if it’s your last,” but – obviously – we can’t do that. What we would do if it was our last day is (1) not go to work and if this WAS NOT our last day that would be a pretty foolish thing to do each day, since it would make each following day worse.
But I die-gress. I would say the best motto is to live as fully as you can, as often as you can, since we only get one ride through (I’m 99.999% sure, as well). Delight in life, I always say. Might as well. WODO, you know?
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Life’s a train. You can ride, watch from the side, or stand on the tracks in front…
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I like that we have the choice. 😉
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