The Dare: To reach life’s end having lived not only its length, but also its depth, width and height.

It happened again.

 I came across one of those you-must-do-this-before-you-die! articles.

 This one, a list: “The World’s Most Picturesque Villages.”

 It pulled me in—a bee to nectar.

 Sixteen “quaint” villages that I must experience, it says.

I love quaint!  It implies homey, welcoming—culinary surprises, visual delights, people that you can run up to and hug, adopt for life.

A quick assessment: I’ve only seen five of the sixteen villages.

Thirty-one pitiful percent.

And, given my place in life, the demands of work, more-pressing priorities, and—in many cases—the risks involved in visiting certain countries, it’s safe to say I’ll probably never even achieve fifty percent of the list.

That feeling of “coming up short” set in again—the resume with gaps in experience, the table service for seven.

Sigh.

Visiting these locales, I guess, is more within the possibilities of people with great wealth and leisure time, as depicted on the TV show, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”  Money is no object.

Those people own it all, do it all, see it all.

I’m not one of them.

So, I did what I do so well…I cranked the rationalization switches to full-blast:

• The locales are so distant. The list was created by the American news media, which means that their list inherently would be devoid of anything great about America, particularly quaint villages.

• I have different priorities for my money and time—trips to be with Just My Joe, tuition payments for the Prince, a soon-to-be-published novel that demands my attention.

• Flying is such a chore these days.  ‘Nuff said on that one

But, wait!

Why do I feel the need to rationalize my way out of envy?

The Bible teaches us that the way we change envy is by changing our perspective, by living a life of purpose.

• Life is not a contest.

• We can’t be happy and envious at the same time.  We gotta' choose.

•  We should not compare ourselves to others; satisfaction comes from doing our best.

Galatians 6:4 tells us: “Let everyone be sure to do his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work done well and won’t need to compare himself with someone else.” 

Strive to be Rich in Purpose

When we strive NOT to keep up with the neighbors, but rather to be the people we are meant to be, won’t we then find ourselves rich in purpose?

I’m convinced that a life rich in purpose includes The Dare:

• Depth. Look inward.  How well did you live? Quaint is a matter of the heart and of a perspective that comes from within.  Note to self: Focus on becoming a person of contentment. 
• Width. Look around.  How well did you love? Can’t I offer “quaint” to others? I can cook a feast for friends, welcome them into my home, make them feel special.  How quaint. How wise. Note to self: Focus on becoming a person of wisdom.
• Height. Look up How well did you learn to let go and trust? I’m rather sure that the word “quaint” does not appear in the Bible (please let me know if I’m wrong), yet the secular world sure likes to assign the word to descriptions of the Bible’s wisdom (“quaint fables,” “quaint teachings”) thus implying something homespun, unsophisticated, NOT to be taken seriously. How silly the world can be! Note to self: Focus on becoming a person of godliness.

Rinse and Repeat

Once again, my focus:

• Become a person of contentment.

• Become a person of wisdom.

• Become a person of godliness.

I think if I can do this, I’ll be the Bill Gates of a life rich in purpose.

To learn more about The Dare, follow this link where all entries are listed in reverse chronological order: https://dlkoontz.com/category/the-dare/