Pulse is optional.

This has become a quote of mine since a few months ago. A friend and I were getting ready to head out and over a few drinks the conversation gradually dropped until a point where we were discussing someone (can't remember who) meeting someone else. It seemed at times that for them pulse was optional in their selection of a potential partner.

However, as I thought about this statement 'pulse is optional' it began to embed into my psyche.

The 'pulse is optional' philosophy

We all face times where we are fed up with aspects of life. During my depression I remember there were times when I felt like giving up on life. I felt like a major failure and that I would never be able to accomplish the dreams and desires that had been so firmly placed on my heart.

The Pulse is optional philosophy helps to put things into perspective. We don't have to be here. Continuing to live is a choice. As Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself

Three choices:

1: Living (You should be used to it by now)

2: Suicide (You get to choose your way out)

3: Death (To see your duty to completion)

If you haven't elected to use option two, then it would appear that you have chosen to keep your pulse going. From here you have two choices (in my opinion):

1: To live life aimlessly, just getting by.

2: To give life an extreme pulse, to give it your best and to do all that you possibly can.

By giving life the best you can, you give it a strong 'pulse'. Life becomes exciting, valuable and challenging in ways you never thought possible before. Sure there will be times that are tough and will lead you into doubt again but you know what your options are and you are making a positive choice every day.

How could your life be different by merely accepting that every day you are alive you are choosing to continue living until you see life through until it's end for you?