make sense of your life through narrative but don't live your life like a narrative

It’s true that we create narratives in order to make sense of our lives.

If we didn’t, we might easily surmise that we’re just a bunch of meat sacks floating on a space rock until the sun eats everything.

This is an act of retrospection, however. You can’t do it as an act of being, at least not effectively.

I’ve made this mistake before. When I was a kid, I used pretend like that my life was a movie.

I was always the main character and there was always a cool opening sequence. I never actually got farther than that in these fantasies, but I did this all the time.

I realize now that this is a childish way to live (and I was, in fact, a child at the time… so I’m not saying that in a demeaning way).

These days, I’m into just being. It takes more energy and planning than you might think.

I make sense of all of it later on.

And if we’re being honest, I think most of us do the same. Things happen. We create the story later.

And interestingly, regardless of the sentiment of the stories (positive/negative) there is always a narrative that keeps us satisfied and engaged.

We make sense of things in retrospect; therefore, there are no bad choices.

And if you don’t have a narrative to make sense of your life, what’s the alternative?

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