Shake Well.

I once was called out by a bottle of juice.

I bought it at the store and it was some smoothie-juice blend that looked delicious and green. As I was about to open the top, I noticed a part of the label. It was the “Shake Well” portion. You know it, it’s on every juice bottle (at least if its real juice). To get the best taste, you need to shake it because the good stuff sometimes sinks to the bottom.

It was what was written under the “Shake Well” that got me; it said, “Settling is Natural.” That’s different. Usually it just says, “Shake Well: Contents may settle,” or even just “Shake Well.”

Never has a juice bottle made me think so philosophically. Isn’t settling natural?

Isn’t it natural to take what is comfortable, easy, and the least resistant rather than to shake things up? If you were given the opportunity to do a full day of work or go binge watch that new show on Netflix, what do you pick?

But life isn’t always about choosing between work and rest. Sometimes settling means staying at that job that is comfortable or safe, rather than striking out on our own. Sometimes it means staying in that relationship that we know isn’t healthy but we are afraid that no one else will want us. Sometimes it means doing the minimum in our faith because doing more might mean substantial changes.

We can choose mediocrity or we can choose to strive for something more. One of those things is easy, the other shakes our lives up.

That is tough, though. It is hard to choose a life that is shaken up rather than comfortable. But every day that is what we have to do. We have to shake things up and be uncomfortable, otherwise, we settle.

If we settle, we never are as good as we could be – because all the good stuff never comes to the surface.

There are moments and times when we are faced with uncomfortable decisions – ones that can shake us up, or let us sit. We are often inclined to settle…its natural. Its easy. But each of us was made for so much more than to be some bland mixture.

You may live your life settling, just being okay, being comfortable and never shaken. Or you can live life shaking things up.

The difference between the two is that in the end one will have lived a life rich and full, a life with little regret. The other will get down to the end and see all the things that sat at the bottom that could’ve been – but now, never will be.

After all, settling is natural.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash