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Sylvia Says…'s avatar

As always, thank you Nedra. I appreciate your invitation to live the dash that little mark in between the date of our birth, and the date that we die in this world. I like the use of the word intentionalist and identify with that. I am focused on curating my wellness at every juncture and living intentionally. Nothing goes in my mouth unless there’s a guarantee that my tastebuds will be dancing. I don’t want to waste a moment. Wealth comes from good living. Thank you Nedra.

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Josefina H's avatar

Absolutely loved this article Nedra. Thank you for encouraging us to be intentional and enjoy life.

While I’m living I would love to live overseas again. I did for a short while before kids and marriage, and stayed in Dominican Republic for six weeks this past summer, would love to do it longer sometime.

As for death the feelings fluctuate. Sometimes I fear it other times I don’t. I always think about my grandmother on how I want to feel.

She used to say she couldn’t wait for the next phase because she’s seen it and done it all. She lived well over 100 and it was beautiful to see that she lived so full she died empty. I want that.

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Sylvia Says…'s avatar

Once again, thank you Nedra for a wonderful nugget. You summed up my ethos of life. In my clinical practice, I have an affinity for working with those that have been marinating on earth for a while. The goal is OLD. I absolutely love that you savor, delicious, poundcake, and tea several times a week. Much of our lives are lived harnessed and governed by parameters created by others. I am intentional about treating each day as a gift to be welcomed with gratitude and enthusiasm. I love the bounty of goodness from farmers markets and enjoy the different products that come with the change in seasons. I refuse to life life deferred. When parts of my body expand more than I want, I prefer go up in size rather than buy undergarments designed to flatten, contain my body. I’d rather be comfortable and free and celebrate the skin and wear my size and not a lie!

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Jess Joseph's avatar

I love this! Just discovered your newsletter and this perfectly sums up how I've been living my life this year. The passing of my grandmother last year really moved me to live my life to the fullest and to give people their flowers while they're here. Last week I crossed off "starting my substack" on my bingo card 😁

There is one other thing I didn't anticipate hitting and that's finding new love. Safe to say I think I hit BINGO already for this year.

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Megan May's avatar

Another great Nedra Nugget! It's funny though, you say "When we think about life as a finite space it can make us anxious and cause us to feel paralyzed" but I almost feel even more anxious and paralyzed when I think of all the days and months and years (hopefully) to come. The idea that my life has so many possible directions to go in and so many days ahead makes me paralyzed about what I should be doing today.

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Mina Stefanovic's avatar

Thank you so much for this gold nugget! ❤️

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Cam's avatar

I turned 65 this year and I’ve noticed as I age, I think about death a lot more than I ever have. I have to literally make myself stop because I can slide too far, too fast down that hole. This post helped me so much! What a powerful reframe! Thank you Nedra, for the kick I needed!

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Nedra  Glover Tawwab's avatar

Your perspective is needed. Thank you for sharing.

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Well Nook's avatar

This is wonderful. Thanks for sharing!

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Genevieve's avatar

Ever since my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s I have been fearing and thinking about my own death. This is really a great way to think about it. Thank you so much.

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Mansi Kwatra's avatar

An amazing reminder! I spent most of my teens chasing the 'rigid' definition I had of success. I forgot that life is not a series of checklists to be completed, it is meant to be enjoyed in the present. I try to build more intention in my day to day by focusing on the little things that make me happy, like watching the sunset through my balcony, stepping out for walks, reading every night before going to bed etc. Life is much more peaceful when we stop chasing the unknown and embrace what we have now!

Great post as always!

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Nedra  Glover Tawwab's avatar

There will always be some checklist someone. Live while checking off those boxes.

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Mansi Kwatra's avatar

Absolutely!

It's best to keep working towards your goals but not put unnecessary pressure of achieving everything within a set timeline. Not everything will go as per plan and it's not the end of the world!✨

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Lauren Powell's avatar

"While I Live" will really stick with me - thank you Nedra! X

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Nedra  Glover Tawwab's avatar

You're welcome!

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Faith's avatar

This has been weighing on me greatly as of late, thank you for bringing this mentality back to the table and front of my mind

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M.M's avatar

This was a nice read. It felt gentle and focused. Sadhguru has a famous quote, he said, most people think everybody else dies. Not them.

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Emme's avatar

On time. Wow. I lost my brother at 21, my cousin at 27 and my sister at 40. At an early age I l learned that we don’t need a reason to fellowship except we enjoy each other - because for some- life is short. I started to feel like I’m just existing now so I did a thing at work (resigned) and I’m on a journey to truly live!

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Nedra  Glover Tawwab's avatar

You've experienced lots of lost. Life is precious.

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Paolo Peralta's avatar

This is beautiful

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Nedra  Glover Tawwab's avatar

Thank you!

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Sanika Tilak's avatar

Wonderful perspective and compass!

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Nedra  Glover Tawwab's avatar

One we can all adopt for a happier (current) existence.

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