They say life isn’t a dress rehearsal. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I really understood what that meant. It’s funny how the minute something becomes relevant in your own life, it hits home in a heavy, heavy way.

I have a bad habit of thinking I have all the time in the world to do things. I don’t. Nobody does. I tell myself I’ll do something next week, next month, that I’ll be ready in six months, in a year, that I’ll be better in five years, more able, a more complete version if the person I apparently think I need to be to do things that I’m longing to do, as well as the ones I’m not yet aware of. It’s one of those things that smacks you in the face when you really think about it at length. Then the question comes: “What are you waiting for?”

It’s a good question. And while I’m theoretically readying myself for the unknown, maybe what really needs to happen is more action and less waiting. More stakes in the ground and fewer nebulous possibilities. I can’t think of a better way to commit to today instead of passing on life and waiting on the future.

Tonight I am thankful for motivation, for action and for putting one foot in front of the other. I’m thankful for knowing that something beneficial will always come out of doing, of risk-taking and asking “why not?”