One of my greatest reactions to the book was to how Phineas lived his life. I really loved his sense of adventure and not wanting to waste any opportunities in life.
There is so much about him to admire. He put others before himself, greatly excelled but was humble, was very sincere, looked for the best in everyone, wanted to right any wrong he felt he had done someone, and wasn't afraid to bend, or flat out break, the rules to live for the moment and do whatever seemed most fulfilling.
I believe that Finny lived his life in a way that we, or at least I, would call "living out loud" or "living to the fullest."
He lived so freely, as well as having a joy for simply being alive.
I guess the way he lived struck me so much because it made me wonder what my life would look like if I lived more like him. Which in turn lead me to wonder what it'd look like if we all lived more like Finny. Would we be more honest with each other? Treat each other better? Appreciate life more? Take more risks?
If nothing else, I think we'd at least have more stories to tell!
So, I mean, what do you think? What did you find most appealing about Finny's character, or what do you think it would be like if we lived a little bit more like he did and really live out loud?
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Weaver, I think that this is a great post. If we would make the most of our opportunities or what life presented us, we would maybe have the attitude of Finny, that so many of us have come to admire and see appealing.
ReplyDeleteHere's some lyrics from the song Someday by Rob Thomas:
And maybe someday we’ll figure all this out
Try to put an end to all our doubt
Try to find a way to make things better now that
Maybe someday we’ll live our lives out loud
We’ll be better off somehow, someday
I think if I lived like Finny my life would be a little better, have less doubt, and love those precious, tiny joys of life.
Our story of going to the overpass to wave to drivers is a great example of this. We went to do just that, wave and smile, but someone doubted our actions, and we later we were questioned for our simple actions. It's necessary to question sometimes, but if there was less doubt, I think it might make many things, just a little better.
To me, living like Finny means taking joy in the smallest of things. I would definitely relish every moment with my family and friends, and I would see every day as a chance for a new adventure. Life would be something to celebrate daily, not something to worry and fuss about. I would make it up as I go, and I would try to make sure that those near me would be as free-spirited.
ReplyDeleteI really love this post. It's great to think about. What if all of us tried to "live out loud?" To me, living out loud or living life to the fullest means just enjoying everything simple in our lives and taking time to just take everything in that is going on around you and not worrying about the things that are way less important. We spend so much time worrying about the way we look, how we act, etc, that we lose track of what's going on around us that is so much more important.
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