I bought a T-shirt with the image above many years ago as a baby present for a friend who named her kid Henry. Just kidding, she named him Tate. If you know a Tate and/or like potatoes, you can click on the photo above to see a website where you can buy the shirt.
I still think the shirt is funny. The original version of the expression, I think, is "Haters gonna hate," but I've also heard it with "players gonna play." A quick internet search reveals some other iterations that exist in the world.
But the version I heard recently on a podcast was "Life's going to life." Technically, this sentence doesn't make sense because "life" isn't a verb, and the closest infinitive form would be "live." That said, I think the meaning of "life's going to life" is obvious, so the English language moves forward, and we can come along for the ride.
Though I don't always love the defeatist nature of "It is what it is," I can get behind the message of "Life's going to life."
This line seems like a good reminder that we don't have control. Things are moving and happening without our say-so or input all the time. Life's not always perfect, but it's always better than the alternative, and whatever rotten things are going on now are almost always temporary. We should be learning to roll with what happens, to embrace the chaos and busy-ness as it comes because life's going to keep lifing around us and to us and within us, and we're so lucky that it is.
Has life lifed you recently? Please share any responses in the comments.
I always struggled with the saying “It is what it is”, because I believe if you don’t like something or you love something, it can always change. This saying, “Life’s going to life”, that I have never heard until now, stands true. So if you are gifted another day of life, go out and live it with your whole heart, even if it means spending a day in bed if that is your choice. “Life’s going to life”. Love it!
A few weeks ago, I spent the day in NYC and smiled as I walked down the street, meeting anyone’s eyes that would engage mine. When I saw someone smile back, it warmed my heart. It felt good, feeling I made someone else smile.
I totally agree. “It is what it is” sounds like giving up, whereas “Life’s going to life” is accepting that things happen. This line, to me, connects with another one I’ve written about: “You can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf.” When I know/accept that life’s going to life, I can figure out how to enjoy whatever happens.
I would love to have passed you in NYC, as you certainly always make me smile! Did you do the same on your recent trip to Chicago? I wonder, if you expand this experiment to everywhere you go, where you’ll get the most return smiles. Maybe Hawaii.