Elizabeth Lithgow's Blog

Have you ever gone to the grocery store on an empty stomach? You're a sitting duck. You buy eveything you don't need. Doesn't matter if its good for you-- you just want to fill your tummy. A lot of things can be seen this same way, I think. When you're lonely, you do the same thing, pulling stuff off the shelf, not necessarily because you need it, but because you're hungry.

I guess, what it really comes down to is the fact that we're all a little afraid of facing life alone.

For fear of not fitting in, we drink excessive amounts of alcohol and take whatever drugs we're offered.  For fear of appearing small, we spend money we don't have on expensive cars and designer clothes. For fear of going unnoticed, we dress to seduce or to impress. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

We all make decisions about what exactly we're willing to sacrifice to get  what we want. Somewhere down the line, we'll look back on the paths we chose and I can only hope that we'll be happy with the decisions we're making today.

Meaning of Life

I do not know the meaning of life, and I suppose I must now apologize if you were fooled by my title. So, if you are only reading this because you honestly thought I could help you get through whatever truth or ideal your mind was pondering, by offering you a few words of insight and inspiration, you should consider looking elsewhere. I do hope you will stick around…. So, like I was saying, I do not know the “meaning of life” and I don’t pretend to, but I am completely capable of telling you what I figure life to mean so far.

Life is about the little things. Cliché, I know, but there’s a good reason for it. It’s about the little fizzies that magically appear when you open a can of soda and the shear elation you experience when you hear your new favorite song on the radio. It’s the way you can’t help but jump out of your seat when your favorite soccer team scores a seemingly impossible goal, or going home to a house full of family and the smell of freshly baked cookies (Sara Lithgow…if you’re reading this, please take note!). Life is about those late nights out with your best friends, and the following mornings—going through your camera and laughing about the random people you saw, and the new memories you’ve just made.

Life is about passion. Not passion like on Gossip Girl or whatever teenage soap opera you choose to watch. There’s so much more to it than that. Passion means work. And though we don’t like to think of it this way, passion sometimes means pain and suffering. We all hope to never again experience the heartache of our first breakup or the first passing of a loved one. But while the pain may have borne a hole in our hearts at the time, the remaining scar reminds us of all the things that led up to the heartache, good and bad, and helps us to remember what we learned from them.

Life is about listening. I know, I know… if you’ve ever had a conversation with me (or should I say, tried to have a conversation with me) you’ll know that I have a problem keeping quiet. It’s not that I don’t care what the other person has to say, it’s just that I find myself trying to think what I’m going to say next. But it has been my experience that you can learn so much more by listening then by talking. So, take some advice from me, the girl self-proclaimed to never be at a loss for words, and shut your mouth, only if just for a brief moment.

Life is about making mistakes. Big Mistakes. And being ready to apologize for the cruel things you’ve said and the stupid things you’ve done. It’s about standing your ground when you really believe something to be accurate. Life’s about being able to lay on your deathbed and say “I have no regrets.”