Are You Killing Yourself?

So often I hear the words come out of my mouth, the question ‘are you living or are you just surviving?’ or this one ‘are you thriving or surviving?’ and sometimes, I have to stop and ask myself these questions too. I have to pause.

As we step out of restrictions here in the UK, so many have spent the last year frightened to die, but in truth are we frightened to live? Have we in fact been living in restriction for years, rather than months? We live in a society that creates a perfect opportunity for us to simply slot in, to fit a mould, to tread that treadmill, to enter that rat race. We are conditioned that achieving certain things means we are successful, that we have got there, but have we?

The problem is not that we were restricted for the last year, the problem is that the last year has shown so many of us that we have been restricted all our lives, and that all this time we thought we were living, we thought we were thriving, we were simply surviving. Walking the path of normality, comfortability and conformity, truly believing that this is how it should be. Never daring to think outside that box, that trail of thought, that life could be so much more. Are we living or are we waiting for God?

Lockdowns have shown many that there is joy from being home, from not being so available, we have learned painfully of friendships and relationships that were disposable when we were no longer needed, no longer served their need. We let go of roles, social circles, networks and even love, recognising that in all these…