Life is Short. Be Yourself.

A friend who lives in San Francisco got this image for me as she too passed the ‘life is short’ wall.

It was the strangest thing. It felt like a hollow space inside filled in.

A few years ago, I Uber-ed to San Francisco airport. In the adjacent lane a vehicle grabbed my attention. It looked like a child’s toy car.  Today, Waymos are universal, but back then, I had no idea what this machine was - swirling antennae, cameras at every corner. I glimpsed the logo and Googled it nonchalantly - I didn’t want my driver to think me a country bumpkin. 

The cameras and antennae whirled. The motion constant. Scanning.  the perimeter. Everything pointed outward. The toy car moved on. My attention returned to the passing view. 

Cars. Buildings. And then a large, white, brick wall. Written across it in bold typewriter font the words - Life is Short. Be Yourself.

The perfect antidote to the Waymo. 

Why do we live so much of our lives with our ‘cameras pointing outward?’ Like the bird in the children’s story asking every passing animal, "Are you my mother?" 

We scan the world for permission: Who should I be? Am I enough? Do you like me? We seek validation from a world while simultaneously scanning for threats.

Life is short. 

The other night, I felt the shift. The filling in. Lowering my center of gravity.

If you’ve ever ridden a horse, or stood on a paddleboard, you know the "wobbly" state. The smallest wave or gust of wind threatens to topple you because your center of gravity is up high—tight and anxious in your chest. A single bump feels like a catastrophe.

But when you intentionally lower that center into your core, into your pelvis, a grounding occurs. Now, a bump is just a bump. It won’t knock you down. You stay balanced. You move forward. 

You are filled in. 

 You shift from scanning the perimeter to inhabiting your life.

The paradox is that being filled in is the only place from which you can truly be present for others. You stop scanning for how to perform. You stop working for recognition. You are simply available.

Life is short. Be yourself. Stay in your seat.