I got a motorbike last week.
It wasn’t an impulse buy. I’ve always been a bike enthusiast. I’d been thinking about it for over a year.
The only thing that stopped me from buying one, even when I could afford it, was practicality. The summer months are short where I live, insurance is high, and so on. I tend to look at everything through a financial lens. Once I got over that, I told myself I’d get one next year.
But then I reminded myself of something I decided earlier this year. To live with a bit of urgency.
It’s what Kabir Das said long ago, “Do tomorrow’s work today, today’s work now.” (काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब).
That applies to life, too. If there’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I can do it today, I’d rather not wait for later. So when I saw the bike I loved, I just bought it.
This is the principle I’m trying to live by these days. I’ve started to really embrace the finite nature of life. Not in a fearful way, not because I think I might die tomorrow, but because I don’t want to keep postponing things to some imaginary “later.”
We’re all surrounded by people who live with regrets. The “should have done it earlier” kind. Perhaps we’ll all have some regrets, regardless of how we live. And that’s fine. But I’d rather not let hesitation be one of them.
So these days, I try to do it now. Not because I’m scared of running out of time, but because I might not be able to do it next year. Or enjoy it in the same way. The “someday” bucket is getting smaller. And it should.
Urgency doesn’t mean rushing. It means choosing now over later by default. It gives you a sense of clarity and focus on the important things in life. Things that mean something to you, which can lead to an intentional life.
This mindset isn’t about bucket lists. It’s about small, everyday choices. Saying yes to a trip instead of waiting for the “right time.” Starting the project, writing the post, recording the memory. Because really, what are we waiting for?
I still plan for the future, a lot. But I try not to postpone life for it.
There’s a Japanese idea I love called mono no aware - an awareness of impermanence. It makes you present. Urgency feels similar. It reminds you that things end, and that’s exactly what makes them meaningful.