We say it all the time... Life is short.

We say it casually, almost as a throwaway line, usually when something shocking happens to someone else.

And yet, despite knowing this intellectually, so many of us continue to live as if we have endless time. We wait. We delay. We tell ourselves later will be the moment we finally rest, enjoy ourselves, or prioritise what really matters.

I lived like this too.

Before my cancer diagnosis, I often felt there weren’t enough hours in the day. Not enough time for me. Not enough space for rest or joy. I was busy, capable, doing all the right things - and yet always feeling slightly behind my own life.

Then life changed.

And what surprised me most wasn’t just the diagnosis itself, but how quickly my relationship with time, pressure, and permission shifted.

The Waiting We Don’t Even Notice

Many of us live in a constant state of “when I get there”.

When things calm down.
When the kids are older.
When work is less demanding.
When we feel better.
When life finally gives us permission.

But here’s the quiet contradiction: we know life is short, and yet we keep postponing living it.

A diagnosis has a way of cutting through that illusion. Suddenly, the constant pressure to be improving, progressing, or striving loses its grip. Not because life becomes easy - it doesn’t - but because what actually matters becomes unmistakably clear.

Health matters.
Connection matters.
Presence matters.
And joy, however small or simple, matters far more than we ever realised.

Permission Isn’t Earned

One of the biggest shifts for me was realising how often we treat rest and joy as rewards.

We’ll rest once we’ve worked hard enough.
We’ll slow down once we’ve proven ourselves.
We’ll enjoy life once everything else is under control.

But life doesn’t work like that.

Even during treatment, while still being a mum and running my business with support, I found time. Not because I suddenly had more hours, but because my priorities changed. What once felt non-negotiable became optional. What I had postponed for years suddenly felt essential.

Permission didn’t come from circumstances changing. It came from seeing life differently.

Presence Over Pressure

We put ourselves under enormous pressure to be heading somewhere - to be better, stronger, calmer, more accomplished. But much of that pressure comes from living in a future that hasn’t happened yet.

The truth is, the only guarantee any of us have is right now. This moment. This breath. This ordinary, imperfect day. TODAY.

Presence isn’t about forcing positivity or pretending everything is fine. It’s about meeting life as it is, without constantly trying to escape it or get ahead of it. When we stop resisting what’s here, we often find there’s far more space, ease, and even joy than we expected.

Rest Is Not a Failure

Rest isn’t giving up.
Slowing down isn’t falling behind.
And choosing yourself isn’t selfish.

So many people I work with are exhausted not because life is inherently overwhelming, but because they’re carrying the belief that they must keep pushing in order to be worthy of rest or peace.

But your body doesn’t need to be convinced to heal.

Your mind doesn’t need to be forced into calm.

And your life doesn’t need to be perfect before you’re allowed to enjoy it.

Living Now, Not Later

Life after a major disruption doesn’t go “back to normal”. It becomes different. And different doesn’t mean worse - it just asks something new of us.

What I see now, both personally and professionally, is that resilience isn’t about bouncing back to who we were. It’s about learning how to live well inside change. To stop waiting for the moment when everything settles, and to start living where we already are.

Life is short. Not in a fearful way. But in a way that invites us to stop postponing ourselves.

You don’t need to wait to live.
You’re already here.