The future, the one thing we're forced to think about all of the time from the moment we can speak. Asking us questions like which school we want to attend, where we want to retire, how many kids we want or even which dog is cuter? Sometimes these questions bring us to the dream of the perfect future, a perfect life with no mistakes. Choices to be made to fulfill these plans arise, even choices we don't want to make. These choices bring us closer, yet farther from our future, but always leaving us questioning whether it was the right one to begin with. Resulting in the never ending desire to know if what we chose was what would make those dreams reality.
In the 2009 film, "Mr. Nobody" directed by Jaco Van Dormael, 118-year-old Nemo Nobody is asked to reflect on his past. As the movie progresses we notice the pattern of different futures Nemo tells to a journalist confusing the audience of which is the real story. To quote 9-year-old Nemo, "You have to make the right choice. As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible." This stands out to me because in life we don't know the right choice. As a population the rights and wrongs we know are the ones told to us to keep us in line as a whole. The whole movie made me really think about the life I have, the one I've lived and the one I've not yet gotten to experience. Every passing second is another action dictating my future, and it's almost as if I only have little control over it.
While watching the movie and seeing all of Nemo's different lives I couldn't help but wonder if we are the same way? The different dreams we have of all the amazing things we do, they're just the different lives we could be living. Some have said that our dreams are our past lives, but what if they were really just the other options for our futures? What if we are foretelling where we will end up like we're psychics?
In our lives, we plan and plan and plan until we see what we want most. I'll admit I've done it so many times myself, and the sad reality of life is that those plans almost never work out. Mr. Nobody said, "Everything works out in the end, even badly." He was nothing short of right either, we all go through times we feel are the end of the world. Scenarios in our lives that take the plans we made for ourselves and shred them to pieces right in front of us. Holding on to the hope of better days and better outcomes, we take those moments and shape them into new plans and new commitments for the future. It's a never ending cycle our population has to live through, I've always looked at it as when one thing goes right, ten million start to go wrong.
But maybe our destiny is one we should stop focusing on. As a young adult I always get asked the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?" My reply has always been the same, successful. But since watching this movie, I've realized my future is always changing, that I worry about where I'll end up but not what I'm doing now. I plan for one good day a few years from now, but not a few seconds from now. Why worry about five years from now when we have deadlines in weeks, in days and even minutes? Don't just "live for the now" but take every moment you have to thank yourself, thank God and thank everyone else. It's a gift to see each day, to use it wisely.
Blow your last $20 on that movie you wanted to see, ask that cute guy on the date, tell your parents you love them, experiment with all the makeup in the world! Stop second guessing all of your decisions because of the judgement you'll receive, because in the end you're having the time of your life. Yes the future matters, but your life now also matters and it's time to start acting like it! I'm tired of walking around seeing people so stressed out and being the one stressed out because one thing went wrong and it's ruining our future. Are you really ruining something that doesn't exist yet? Don't be afraid to live, because being afraid means you'll never learn to enjoy what you have. Take in the world around you and smile, it's another beautiful day. And don't forget to...
