My Glass Box
YOLO? An acronym that has floated around for ages, but has gotten extremely popular in the last decade. It’s featured in songs, raps, movies and television. Has this phrase lost its intended meaning? “You Only Live Once” is an excuse to go out and do whatever you feel like without repercussions because…well… YOLO.
This was my initial thought…when it came to “Yoloing”, I only looked at the people using the phrase, not what it meant. I now see that YOLO isn’t just an idiotic phrase used by people avoiding responsibilities, but an understanding to cherish what you have. Don’t wait for things to happen, go out and do them! Although, I’m sure some Buddhists and Hindus would disagree but you do only live once, at least in this particular life. Your body and mind can only experience what you expose them to. YOLO is not telling you to go out and do crazy, stupid things.
It is saying; to live your life to the fullest, go and explore, gain knowledge, fall in love, fall out of love, get hurt, eat your feelings, make a change!
When I heard this topic, I think one of the reasons why I had a knee jerk reaction to reject it and say it was ridiculous and absurd was because it was difficult for me to relate to. It is very challenging for me to let go of my inhibitions and just do things, without some kind of plan or back up.
Because YOLO isn’t just the physical act of going out and doing things you’ve never done before; it is rather the mental and emotional task of opening your heart and mind to things you’ve never imagined. Writing about this topic, I realized I live in a glass box.
I can see what is going on in the world and hear it, but can never fully experience it. The square prism around my heart prevents it. Throughout this experience, I have tried to grasp the reason why I have blocked myself from everything.
The only thing I can say is that I am glad this topic came up. It has alerted me to the fact that I need to work on changing. I commend people who are constantly reminded of YOLO to push them to go out and live to the fullest of their abilities. In order for me to do it, I must get to know myself and find out why I’m blocked inside.
Unfortunately, I have an even greater challenge because not only is my heart in a glass box, blocked off from the rest of the world, it is also barred from me. So yes, in the beginning I did think that this was a nonsensical topic, but looking back now, I realize the nonsensical one was me. I need to heed YOLO’s “teachings” because you really do “Only Live Once!”