Amrita Week 11; The Power of Living, Laughing, and Loving
The Power of Living, Laughing, and Loving
You see on the walls of every generic American home. You see it on decorative signs in your local Ross and TJ Maxx. You see it in stock images all over the Internet. The phrase “live, laugh, love” has become not just a classic motivational phrase that can be found in typical American stores and households, but a meme in younger generations. As teenagers, we refer to the phrase humorously, mocking it when we see it in our daily lives, but isn’t there some truth to the statement?
When I think about the things that are truly valuable in life, I think of things along the lines of those three words. Rather than the moments that I’ve enjoyed having underlying themes of superficiality, they have involved me living, laughing, and loving.
While the phrase is undeniably meme-worthy (and is always going to get a good laugh out of me), it serves as a reminder and an encouragement to acknowledge the true powerful things in life: the small things.
From merely waking up, and in a comfortable bed, being able to breathe fresh air, coming to school and seeing our friends, eating our favorite foods, and spending quality time with the people we love, such small things that we forget to appreciate every day are the things that are worthy of value, and while it would be easy to move past losing large amounts of money or power, moving past the loss the people we love, the moments that bring us joy, and our abilities to live would be impossible.
The next time you stumble upon this phrase in your daily life, laugh (because it is pretty funny), but don’t forget to think about the message that it holds too, and to appreciate the life around you.
p.s. dont forget to live, laugh and love today lol
I thought it was pretty creative to turn a common phrase that we’ve all heard growing up, “live, laugh, love” into a blog post. I liked how you split your blog up into short paragraphs, which made it a lot easier to read, and also how you incorporated a conversational tone into it. I felt like I was talking to you rather than reading your blog. I appreciated how you made sure to use your own voice throughout the blog, which certainly made it more engaging. I feel like everyone has the kind of realization that you communicate in this blog: a phrase that you have grown up hearing suddenly becoming so important and relevant to your life. I agree that it is easy to get caught up in life and forget to appreciate the small things around us, and I think that is the difference between those who are happy and those who are not. It is not necessarily what we get out of life that appeals to us but the journey. For example, if I ended up with all of the money I wanted tomorrow but my life had to end, I would certainly not be happy. I would want to experience the journey of earning that money, because that is what matters. It is about experiencing life to the fullest that makes us truly happy.
ReplyDeleteAmrita, the introduction to your blog was unbelievably catchy—I thought your use of repetition of the phrase “you see it on…” provided an intriguing opening to your writing. Superficially, the phrase “live, love, laugh” seems like it would’ve been created on a whim, without much weight or thought put into it. However, a deeper dive into the source you linked told me otherwise—I found the poem that the catchphrase was derived from, on the contrary, inspiring. Its initial line, “He achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much,” adds a more defined perspective on the phrase. I enjoyed how both the poem and your blog attribute success and happiness not to what is established as the norm, such as becoming a billionaire or simply being better than everyone else, but rather living, laughing, and loving, pursuing the simple pleasures life has to offer. At the end of the poem, it reads, “[he achieved success] whose memory a benediction.” At the end of the day, when I reminisce on memories, it’s not the hours I spent working or the material gifts I’ve received that I remember but rather the smaller moments that reemerge, like the crafty jokes whispered in class, the evening strolls with friends over familiar roads, and agreeably the simple acts of waking up, breathing fresh air, and eating delicious meals. It certainly goes to show that those ‘small things’ are never really small—they are, as you mentioned, “the true powerful things in life.” I ended up really enjoying reading your blog, and I can’t wait to hear from you next week!
ReplyDeletep.s. made sure to live laugh and love today
Hi Amrita, I liked how you started off your blog with the emphasis on just how much of a common phrase "live, laugh, and love is." You mentioned seeing it on the "walls of every generic American home," and I know I have certainly used this phrase in a sarcastic/joking context throughout high school. However, I also agree that there is, at times, some truth to it. I know that whenever there has been a happy moment in my life, this phrase is definitely something I could use to describe it. For example, all the fun moments I had hanging out with my friends and family last summer, can definitely be described as moments where I was "living, laughing" and also "loving". It can also be something as simple as listening to my favorite song, or having a good night's rest, but it is truly these little moments that allow me to feel the smallest bit of happiness, and to appreciate this is something that is definitely needed, and the phrase of "live, laugh, and love" has helped me realize this. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteAmrita, I think I really agree with you with your point about how even the most overused and mundane phrases or actions can have an unimaginable amount of power. I think the reason that many of these phrases are tried and true is because they are, at their roots, something that we all believe in and something that we all need. I don't think anyone has ever complained about laughing or loving too much, because it's something that we all want and need in our lives. And although I know that these phrases are just as corny as dad jokes or whatever, I find solace in the fact that it's still good life advice. Maybe the best things in life aren't the complicated super intellectual BS that everyone tries to strive for. Who cares about these random look for inner peace within yourself blah blah blah. I think the best things in life are simple; no need to overcomplicate it. Live, laugh, love holds a special place in my heart because it is just that simple. No deeper meanings, nothing, just living, laughing, and loving. In our world that's so busy all the time and so complicated and just overwhelming in general, taking a step back and really enjoying the simple, mundane things in life is one of the greatest joys there is.
ReplyDelete