Memento Mori - Remember that you will die.
Time is an amusing thing. Three minutes standing in front of the microwave oven, waiting for our lunch, seem like an eternity. Yet days and months can pass in blink, without leaving any trace behind. Theref...
Why do we have to make our bed, knowing that it will be messy again soon?
When I was a little kid, I was the only one who had a mattress in the family. My parents slept on the floor. Yet, every morning, they were really strict about making my bed. No matter how much I protested, saying that it is a waste of time, I could never talk my way out of doing. I always pestered my parents on why should I waste my time on something so useless, and they always told me that I will get it when I am a grown up. So naturally, I swore that one day when I finally moved out, I would never ever make my bed in the morning again, and I would be completely fine.
Two decades later, I did move out. To another continent, actually. I still remember the first morning I woke up in my own room, for the first time ever without my parents in a 100m radius. What was the first thing that I did? Can you guess?
I made my bed. Without thinking, without considering, without pestering, without negotiating, I just did it.
Why?Years ago, I accidentally came across the commencement speech by Admiral William Mcraven at University of Texas - Austin. It was essentially life lessons from an old sailor drawn from his time in the marine bootcamp. One of those lessons was: "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed". The idea is that you need to be able to do small things right, if you want to do the big things right. Making a perfect bed is essentially a training for your discipline. And, in case you have a miserable day, it is always nice to return a made bed, the one that you made.
So, I'm not sure that I "get" what my parents told me; but I guess I will keep making my bed for a while.
After all, it's better to welcome a lady with a freshly made bed than a messy one.
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