Enjoy it now. It all fades.
Now there is wisdom we always ignore.
Life really is wasted on the young.
All kidding aside... life is fleeting.
We have to embrace everything in the best way possible.
Redditor ConesWithNanwanted everyone to celebrate certain aspects of life while it's still possible. So they asked:
"What should we enjoy before it's no longer around?"
I try to appreciate it all. Life is the all. I fall short though.
Live Long
Working Out Richard Simmons GIFGiphy"Good health."
macaronsforeveryone
"Enjoy the health of your youth but make an effort to work out. With weights. Use household items if you don't have access to a gym. Strength training is crucial as we age."
nameisinusetryagain
Smile
"Teeth hygiene is one of those things you hear so often it's easy to block out. Something I heard once and never forgot it though was in the movie 'Peggy Sue Got Married.' She was able to go back in time to do things differently and in one scene she asks her grandfather if he could go back, what he'd do differently. He says, 'I'd have taken better care of my teeth.' It's stuck with me ever since."
TrustAvidity
Gone
"Grandparents and Family History. When they die, it's gone forever."
skaote
"I wish I had had more conversations with my grandpa before he passed. He lived an incredibly full life as an outdoor adventurer, but he was a very quiet man."
"I didn’t get around to actually asking to hear his stories until the last few years. I only know a fraction of the incredible life he lived. I miss him all the time. I deeply regret not having more conversations with him. I just hope I live a life he would be proud of."
NadjaStolz28
LOUDER
"Any band or artist while they are still touring/alive."
Imhere4theinsurance
"Absolutely yes! Back in the day Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio, basically) made a couple of shows here in my city. I had the time and money to go but decided to spend it elsewhere as 'they will come back.' Dio fell ill from cancer the next year and died not long after. If regret turned to money, I would be able to fund my own space program."
IgorCruzT
I'll be there for you...
Happy Birthday Reaction GIF by FriendsGiphy"Your friends, and having time to spend with them."
SnooChocolates2741
"I was gonna say your parents. This is kinda in the same vein."
DoctorCaptainSpacey
This is making me sad yet feeling more life affirmed. Weird.
Essentials
bananas GIFGiphy"Bananas."
Jimmy_Hovits
"Issue is, almost all bananas are essentially clones of each other due to how they are grown. That means there's extremely low genetic diversity among them."
fredthefishlord
See You Again
"As much time as possible with your significant other. I lost my wife last year and I have never and will never be the same again. She was only 41 years old. Way to young for me to be mourning the loss of my best friend and soul mate. I love you Stephanie. I can't wait to see you again."
StraightSho
creak and pop...
"Healthy joints. I creak and pop so much now just standing up."
reluctantsub
"After decades of running every day, my joints are still good but when I get up in the morning the ankles sound like I'm tossing pop-its on the way to the kitchen."
"What's more annoying is that I habitually cross my legs when I lay down (don't even notice I do it) and since I have skinny legs the ankle bones will squeeze on the nerves of one leg or the other and start foot or calf cramps. Wakes me up sometimes."
Dangercakes13
Love Hard
"Your significant other. Love them with your whole heart, and appreciate them for loving you back. Don't take them for granted or you'll be left emptier than you've ever been before."
yaboialliance
"Yep. My fiancée left me 2 weeks ago. I’ve never felt as broken as I do now. Every day is misery and a struggle to get through. I really wish I cherished those last few weeks more than I did and didn’t pay so much attention to my job."
Wrastling97
From this Moment
Paul Dano Yes GIF by Searchlight PicturesGiphy"Youth, like being a child. Doing things without a care in the world."
KrazzyZombie
Generations
"Our parents. One minute they’re youthful, the next they’re elderly. Don’t take them for granted, give them a call because one day you wont be able to."
Eloquentdyslexic
"I would say always be grateful for your parents that stuck around and/or even made it to their elderly years. I'm 28 and lost my mom in 2017, loved and cherished her till her passing. What I would give to have her back."
CatSk8Scratch
Friends (Not)Forever
"Childhood friends. Seriously, making friends when you’re adult is so different and less fun."
PrinzeMaker
"On the flip side, childhood friends really diverge from you sometimes. One goes on to become a vain mini-celebrity, another just decides that you are not good enough for him any more, more than half of them just move away and move on with their lives."
"And God forbid some bad times befall you, many of them just don't want to talk to you because now you're 'tainted' or a 'loser.' This is when you pick up new friends primarily with your new interests or same socio-economic class/bracket, similar needs, wants and concerns. But the few friends that remain despite disparity in income and divergence in social norms are really good friends and you are lucky to have them."
misconfigbackspace
It's not a for-profit venture...
"Government things run as a service rather than as a for-profit venture. Libraries and the like. At least in my country the trend for the past 40 years has been to slowly privatize every aspect of life, which has inevitably lead to profit incentives forcing budget cuts and the bare minimum service to maximize profit and minimize cost, and thereby providing a worse service."
"For instance, people lately have been talking about how the postal system costs more than it makes, as if that's a negative thing. It's funded by our taxes as a service. It's not a for-profit venture. These are the things we pay taxes for, our money is reinvested into infrastructure and services to the benefit of all society. Providing conveniences at a loss to improve society is part of the government's job."
"It seems one of the greatest myths, to me, that the most effective way to run anything is to run it as a corporation."
SendMeNudesThough
Short Term
"It sucks so bad that dogs have such a short life. Our Great Pyrenees is already 2 and it seems like yesterday we just brought her home as a pup, so enjoy your animals as much as possible because before you know it they're old and can't do the things they used to do."
Few_Dance2106
Enjoy It
rainy days rain GIF by funkGiphy"Life. Weather it’s our own life or the lives of loved ones. Just appreciate and enjoy it."
Abebecrawfish
The Gift
"Our youth. Being young is a gift. Kids and young adults these days are so busy trying to be adults. Being an adult kinda sucks. I wish I was a kid again lol."
Shop_Kooky
"Nearly 21 and I’m starting to feel like a kid all over again. I tried to be a ‘grown up’ wayyyy too quickly, but I’ve reversed back to having a pink girly room, pretty ‘girly’ clothes etc. don’t get me wrong, I sort my car insurance and pay my bills, but if there’s a park near by, I’m going on the swings."
m_otter_12
It's Too Late
"Nature. Forests and wildlife."
Fickle-Ability6279
"The entire planet, really. Public opinion on the need to save the climate, and basically nature in general, is finally shifting, but I am very afraid it will be too little, too late :/"
erwin76
Broken
"Peace. Something catastrophic has been brewing I just feel it."
Sentinowl
"The idealist in me sees the beautiful ways in which we can coexist and rectify the huge problems that we face as one human species. The realist in me sees that these ideals are too much to ask of humans who are inherently much too self-serving, greedy, violent and broken."
sangredeltigre
Most Important
Eyes Blinking GIFGiphy"Everything. Because things could be gone in a blink of an eye."
val7491
"Best answer I’ve seen."
MonadoboiXen
What did we learn? Appreciate life. Appreciate everything. Nothing is forever.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.