Never Say Never

End, or just another start?

I don't believe in finites: that is, the use of words we use to profess an emotion or opinion we believe will never change.

I have a little trouble with the words "best" and "worst" because in reality our perspective and experience in life is always changing. It's always possible that something can be better or worse in the future than whatever's happening right now. Something I think is the best or worst ever, is really just the best or worst so far.

But possibly my least favorite finite is "never."
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How can you, in all seriousness, say you'll never do this or never try that? Are you channeling a psychic that suddenly enables you to predict the future? Are you so rigid that you know even in 30 years time you'll never change your mind, your tastes won't evolve, your world won't expand.

Whatever you think you'd never do is merely a product of where you are now, and the only way that now is the be all/end all, is if you die right this second...

...

...

But you didn't die did you? You're still here, living another now. It's just a few seconds after the last now, but it's still a new now.

You're a few seconds older and a few seconds wiser, and in any given second - in any given situation, conversation, or experience - your mind could change on any number of things.

I don't pretend to know what I'll be like 30 years from now. I'll be me, of course, but I'll have 30 more years of life to draw on. 30 more years of trying new things. 30 more years of getting out of my comfort zone. 30 more years to change my mind.

Today I could say I will never skydive. I'll never climb Mount Everest. I'll never eat durian fruit. I'll never visit Antarctica. All possible "nevers" for me.

But what if somewhere down the line I change my mind? What if I hike Mount Whitney here in California and love it? So then I take on Denali in Alaska and really catch the climbing bug. Then, despite just watching the harrowing movie Everest where (spoiler alert) pretty much everyone dies, I decide my life goal is to stand at the highest peak on planet earth.

What if a series of decisions I make alters my mind on this or any number of opinions I have about things I'd "never" do?

Honestly, right now I can't see myself ever having a desire to climb Everest (take a deep breath, mom). I love hiking and I've already put together a list of mountains I want to climb, but I'm also risk averse and exceptionally uninterested in dying at a young age.

Despite that, I still can't use the word "never" here, just like I can't ever use it anywhere. My thoughts on Everest are just my current opinion. I am well aware that many of my opinions will change over time, and this could be one of them.

Rather than make bold statements of certainty, I choose to mindfully live in the present and fully acknowledge that each moment is another experience that alters my future.

I can never know if anything really is a "never," so I choose to never say never again.