What was YOUR wakeup moment?
A community built around two questions, inviting you to share your life reflections.
What was YOUR wakeup moment?
A community built around two questions, inviting you to share your life reflections.
A community built around two questions, inviting you to share your life reflections.
A community built around two questions, inviting you to share your life reflections.
The nosebleed that changed everything.
I was good at my job. Really good.
Then, one morning, during a routine meeting with my boss, my body made a decision my mind hadn't been willing to make. I had a nosebleed. Then I passed out.
High blood pressure.
A few days later, my wife asked,
"Do you want to die never having known if you could have made it as an artist?"
That was my wake-up call. I left the restaurant industry behind. With brushes in hand, I embraced a sense of freedom that led to significant personal growth. I began to truly understand what memento mori means—not as a dark concept, but as a liberating reminder of life reflections and the importance of pursuing one's passions.
The same year I picked up my brushes, life handed us something harder.
Michelle and I married in May of 2022. On our honeymoon, her father told us he was fighting cancer for the second time. Weeks after we got home, my own father died suddenly. We bought one-way tickets from Alaska to California and spent three months wrapping up his affairs.
I never got to say goodbye.
Over the following year, Shell's father's health kept declining. She felt what she calls "the hand on her back," telling her it was time to go be with her family. I didn't want her to go through what I had. So we sold the home we'd built together in the woods of Alaska, bought a 1993 RV we nicknamed "Peace Arrow," loaded it up, and headed South. We chased autumn across Canada for a month. It was one of the most beautiful things we've ever done.
We landed in Central Arkansas to help care for her parents. Things didn't unfold the way we'd imagined. But we stayed. We adjusted. We found our footing.
I'm now a garden programmer at the Faulkner County Library - work I love deeply. Work I never could have predicted. Shell earned her certifiaction as an end-of-life doula, helping others the way she'd hoped to help her family.
Four years ago I would never have pictured this life. But I understand now that this is what the second half of the philosophy means.
Urgency wakes you up. Love is what you do once you're awake.
We are learning to love like we're going to live here: fully, imperfectly, and with everything we have.
What chapter are you living?
Every person has a story — a moment of urgency, a choice made out of love, or both. We're collecting them here, one honest voice at a time. Let your story inspire others. We are not alone on this journey.
Shared stories will only appear on this site and will not be shared or distributed in any other way without the original author's consent. Shawn B Studios reserves the right to create, sell, and distribute artwork inspired by shared stories and images. Artwork created by Shawn Standley is property of Shawn B Studios.
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