“All we have is the present moment”
You know when people ask, if you can do anything or go wherever you want, what or where would that be? Often we stare for a while, think and picture our life in the way we want it to be. We said things like, “I want to travel the world”, “I want to be a lawyer”, “I want to build my own company”, “I want to live in New York”, “I want to see the Northern Lights”, “I want to climb the highest mountain in the world” (whatever that is). We picture it in our head, then we came to reality and be like “One day”, or “But you know, it was just dreams”.
OR
In a very unusual case, we say things like “Well, I have done all I want to do, and I have been all where I want to be, I don’t mind doing other exciting things in the future, or go wherever it takes me, but right now, I’m enjoying life as it is, because I am where I am supposed to be.”
For the longest time, I heard people keep asking one another, wondering things that they want to do in the future, things they want to have, places they want to be. People talk talk talk about things that are not in front of them. It’s like our brain is in constant thinking of “what next?”. Especially if you are a very ambitious person. One of those people who know exactly what type of life you want to have and where you want to be.
Once you get it all, you started to feel confused. “Oh no, what’s next?”. Then you keep exploring things, opening options, trying to figure it out on what to do next. You are in constant move. You want to do big things. Even when you have done big things, you still want more of big things. It’s like, an ever ending circle. There is no end. You keep pushing yourself.
Until you feel like it’s too much, and you need to take a step back. However, when you take a step back, people are just always there. They talk talk talk and talk. Ask you all of this random things, questions like, “so, what are you gonna do after this?” or “what’s your plan for the future?”. Then your anxiety came back, you started to feel anxious again about the future. You search, explore, try to find options. It goes on and on. Once you figured it out, you go to the next step, and once you are in the next step, you think about what is the next step after the next step. It’s a never ending cycle.
The thing is, life is very unpredictable. We can die tomorrow and all of this won’t even matter. See? That’s the thing, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. People need to stop thinking about “what’s next?” and just enjoying the present moment. Think about it for a second, all the stuff you keep thinking you want to do won’t even matter if the world end tomorrow. This might be very cheesy or whatever you want to call it, but that is the fact. I read the famous book “The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck”, I’m sure many of you have read his book, he is such a brilliant author, and one chapter that really gets to me was when he talked about the tragedy of his friend. The chapter when he talked about death. The chapter when he said something like “… and then we all die”. It just get to me, because that is just so true. When we die, all of the things about the future that we constantly think about, won’t even matter. And the most important thing is, we can die anytime, so why waste our time thinking about the future?
This is the most random and unstructured blog post I have ever written but I’m just going to write it, and be honestly real for once. I have always been a very ambitious person, since I was a little kid. I always think “what is next?”. Not to mention people-pressure, it’s hard when people keep asking the same thing over and over again. For once, I finally, can stop thinking about that. I no longer think about what is next, because I am happy with where I am right now. And when people ask me that question, I just smile and say “life is full of surprises, why try to ruin it?”. And I do believe in what I said. I have travelled, got a degree that I’m passionate about last year, got a job in a public sector (which what I always want to be involved in), finished my master’s degree this year, got my very first flat that I paid myself (yes I’m financially independent, so happy!), got my own website, live in a beautiful city, I have done ballet, piano, guitar, even drama class, I have performed in theater, involved in gymnastic, yoga, and others. I have accomplished many things in my life and I’m still 22, I guess I just want to let my self rest for once, and truly enjoy life without thinking what the future hold. I worked so hard this past few years, and I know that all that hard work bring me to where I am right now, where I am supposed to be. Of course I’m still excited to welcome the future, and plan for things, but not now. Because I know myself, and I believe in myself too, I know that eventually I will reach my end game, and you should believe in yourself too that eventually things will work out. The future will be a journey of ups and downs, but it will eventually lead you where you’re supposed to be, just as it leads you to where you are supposed to be right now. Because we are, exactly where we are supposed to be.