Growing up with a mom and dad who were elementary school teachers has had a lasting impact on me. Their persistent emphasis on education, respect for teachers, having a schedule (for homework and the like), as well as the importance of being a good friend, was not lost on me. I’ve followed the rules and led a life, primarily, on a path both straight and narrow.  In my 51 years I’ve rarely gone “astray,” even with the unexpected tumult of losing my mom at the age of 14.

Over the course of my life to date, I’ve come to associate following the “rules” with being a good person.  The value I’ve assigned to this adherence to the rules has had, unfortunately, unintended negative ramifications.

I will not deny that these rules have formed the positive foundation of my life and it’s direction toward purpose and fulfillment.  This is positive.  However, the older I get, the more I realize that the adherence to this mindset of rule-following has left me at a disadvantage of sorts...as it relates to the sheer enjoyment and pleasure of life for its own sake. There’s been little room left in my life for FUN.

Let me explain. My teenage girls occasionally TELL me (yet I’m certain they routinely FEEL this way but don’t tell me) that I am boring and not fun. I’m not bummed that they feel this way... I’m bummed because it’s true.

When I began Memento Mori Life almost one year ago, it forced me to look inward.  How can I successfully profess a life lived with PASSION, PURPOSE and PRESENCE if I’m unable to find the fun and sheer enjoyment in moments of my own life?

I began to ask myself just how trapped I was within my own rules. “So often times it happens we live our life in chains that we never even know we have the key.”(The Eagles)

I find that I need to give myself permission to have “fun” and let loose.  Once I do, I’m fully invested. My mindset, though, has had to shift.

It’s not that rules are meant to be broken. Rather, those rules can serve as a “guide,” and not the ultimate goal. The more I come to realize that life is truly fleeting, the more vital it is to DO, SAY and THINK with enjoyment.

When I had children, I knew that it was this “regimen” of right and wrong that I intended to pass on to my girls.  Believe me, they are not as strict with themselves as I am with them! Now, as my girls are 16 and 17, I need to look at the foundation I’ve provided and help them to create a different way (than my own) of succeeding. 

With MEMENTO MORI, I am now aware of the attention given to this rule adherence and I’m better able to create more of a balance with my kids and “BE” with them.  In those moments, I can have fun and enjoy ?  This is what I seek more of in my life.  What do you seek in yours? It’s all within our reach...MEMENTO MORI