The Christian season of Lent, which begins today and serves among other things to remind us for forty days of our mortality, has something to say about YOLO, and it is this:
If we are mortal creatures living lives that could end at any moment, then the inclination to spend our moments on Instagramable trips and treating ourselves to whatever the algorithms are feeding us and basically living as if our purpose is merely to eat, drink, live in the right zip code, and be merry—well, that inclination is profoundly insane.
If our brief and momentary lives are to mean anything beyond the inherent gift of life bestowed, then YOLO can only make sense in the context of self-sacrifice and the love of neighbor.
Trips are fine, and buy good things that bring joy, and feast well when it is the season for that, but remember that YOLO is ultimately a way to bound our lives in the freedom of other-love rather than freeing our lives to the enslavement of self-excess.
Meaningful Returns 