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For the Living

For the Living is a book covering 13 lessons people on the edge of life have learned, ones that allowed them to make the most of the rest of their lives.

A resource by R David

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From the Introduction:

I think people who’ve walked the very edge of life have so much to teach about making the most of it. That is, if we let them. This book covers thirteen such lessons and the life stories those lessons are drawn from:

1.      We have to face the music before we can dance to it,

2.      If we haven’t felt it, we haven’t faced it,

3.      Embrace what your heart tells you, but let your mind change,

4.      Recognize that knowing is a gift,

5.      Discover the power of finding your power,

6.      Tackle the hard things so you can get to the good things,

7.      Remember that life isn’t about the lines but the spaces,

8.      Be the one behind the wheel of your life,

9.      Know that there will never be another you,

10.   Love powerfully,

11.   Dare to be the “If not for…”

12.   Live your way into a bigger story, and

13.   Outlive your life.

My hope is that these windows into their stories will be half as meaningful to you as they’ve been, and continue to be to me. Finally, a few thoughts on how to use this book. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not a “how-to” manual. It’s a travel guide. It’s not a GPS. It’s a map. Instead of telling you how to get there, it’s intended to give you the lay of the land, so you can decide not just where you’re going but the route that takes you past all the sites you want to hit.

These lessons are neither prescriptive nor authoritative. Some of them will resonate very strongly for you, and others, not. The underlying premise here is that you are the world’s foremost expert on your life. Only you can determine where you want to go and the route you want to take to get there.

”Second things second, don't you tell me what you think that I could be,” sang Imagine Dragons in Believer. “I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh, the master of my sea.” They were right. So, while there’s an order to how the lessons are laid out here, that may or may not hold for how you encounter them in life. It’s the process of looking for the answers that often reveals the right questions.

My Inspiration

Someone asked me about the title, “For the Living”. I chose it because of its double meaning. On the one hand, it identifies the audience, those of us who may be on the edge of life, but who are still very much among the living, and determined to make the most of it. And that gets to the second meaning, an affirmation of what life is for, that it’s for the living, and for living well. That’s what spiritual vitality is all about, caring for our own souls in ways that allow us to wring as much good stuff out of life as we possibly can. “So, live it,” Passenger sang, “Or you’re better off dead.” Sons of Legion said it this way in in Walking on the Edge: “See the sunrise through the window, another day, another chance at life. And the wind is blowing through the willows, reminds me that we're all just passing by. “All I know,” they continued, “Is this old road ain't changing, so when the hell am I? And Lord knows that my soul ain’t breaking, so I’m gonna risk it all tonight – walking on the edge.” That’s what you and I get to do. And finally, there’s the incomparable Mae West, who quipped, “You only live once. But if you do it right,” she continued, “Once is enough.” May this one life you have be all that you need it to be, and may you truly live every day of it.
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