The Warning Labels of Life

June 25, 2008 by Jill Stewart 28 Comments

While reading the newest post from sarahsD, I was recently reminded of a post I have contemplated for some time.  It’s all about danger.

Our entire childhood is filled with our parents saying NO, don’t touch that, it will hurt, or YOU ARE GOING TO CRACK YOUR HEAD OPEN IF YOU DON’T STOP JUMPING ON THE BED!!!!  Don’t eat that DON’T DON’T DON’T!!!!

I am sure you get the point, especially if you are a parent.  Of course when you have children and you are raising them, you want them to be as safe as possible.  Emergency room fees are expensive, not to mention you could have Child Protective Services in your business for the next year if the “wrong” kind of accident happens and they seem to think you are abusing your child.

However, you would think there would come a point in time that we could stop reading the warning labels on life and just enjoy life for what it is.  If we listened to every news report we could safely assume that orange juice will help fight cancer, but put a diabetic into sugar shock.  I think orange juice is the only thing that fights cancer, because scientists claim damn near everything else will GIVE you cancer.  Your TV, your cell phone, your computer, the wood stain used to color your kitchen table, the foam in your car seats, the clothing you wear.  OK, I am exaggerating a bit, but come on, who else has not heard these reports and thought “For fuck’s sake can I even go outside anymore???”  Nope, skin cancer from the sun!!!!  SPF 3000 won’t even stop it!

Oh but wait!!!  Being a shut-in is no longer acceptable either.  Your air conditioner somehow mysteriously throws cancer makers into the very air you breathe.  Allergens will kill you, your water is full of chemicals that will kill you, your mattresses not only don’t support you worth a crap, but they are dangerous too.  Let’s not even talk about how dangerous a bathtub or shower is, or carpet cleaner etc etc etc.

You can’t date.  Meeting people in a club is dangerous, and meeting people online is even worse.  Women have to carry pepper spray in order to keep from being robbed in broad daylight, and we must all have a basic fundamental grasp of self-defense, or surely we will be killed before we are 30.

---

People, this is getting stupid.  I personally, am so sick of seeing or hearing these kinds of comments that I can’t see straight.  It’s called LIFE for a reason.  It is meant to be lived without having some stupid political agenda thrown into our faces on a daily basis about what IS or IS NOT good for us.  Yes, we should eat healthy, yes, we all know smoking is bad for us, yes, we know we should be safe when we are alone.

However, none of these things are going to make our break our lives.  Eating a steak is NOT going to kill you.  Having full fat mayo is not going to kill you.  Drinking tap water is not going to kill you.  What will kill you is looking back on your life later and thinking to yourself “CRAP I should have had more fun and less worries!!!”