We all have all done things that we will remember forever.
Good ...or bad.
But what happens when we focus too much on these things? We either live too much in the past and relive all our glory days -- or we fret about the future and repeating the mistakes we have already made.
What happens when you can no longer live in the present because you are too caught up in your past or future?
Life falls apart.
I've known people who found their greatest joys in looking back and seeing all they had done. It was a grandiose scene I will admit, but a memory none the less.
What happened to these people? They forgot to make their future as bright as their past. They lived each day with a downcast melancholy that can only be described as that of Gilgamesh after the passing of Enkidu. For those not familiar with Gilgamesh, it is a deep hole of despair -- very depressing.
As for those people who live only in the future, panicking at their past mistakes, well, they live as Apollo did as he pursued Daphne. He followed zealously while she fled, becoming a game of cat and mouse, one that will last eternally.
However, you do not have to live in either of these realms. There is an option C.
Live right here, and right now.
At the moment, I am finding this rather hard to do. I am a freshman in college this year, I feel as if I am the mouse in this great game. I am shy, timid and slightly frightened.
As I think about my past experience with new things, I begin to feel nervous of my past mistakes. On the flip side I think of all the good things I accomplished, and am filled with a timid confidence.
I don't know what this new year will bring as I approach it, I only know one thing. I will not be like Gilgamesh and revel in past glories, nor will I be as Apollo, pursuing things that are not important. I will live in the present.
Right here, and right now.
Nowhere else.
I just have one final question for you,
When tomorrow begins, where will you be?
Past, present or future?
I sincerely hope you will be with me in the present.
As the proverb was stated so well in KUNG FU PANDA: "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."
So today, on this present day, I ask you to live for the moment. Laugh a little more, cry a little less and do the things you love.
Don't let time or worries stop you. Time will still pass -- why not let it pass doing something you love? Worries won't last forever, they only endure as long as they occupy your mind. Don't let them stay long.
Life is too short for things such as that. Live today, live the moment and most importantly, love this life.
