Live in the moment

by:Abhinav

Have you ever thought of what will happen to all your dreams and goals when you die? All the places you wanted to go, all those trips you wanted to go on with your friends, and all the other things you wanted to do. Where will they all go? You will never know. Because you won’t be there to try and achieve them. It is really good that you have your future all planned with all the things you want to do. But you never know what life has in store for you. It can be good or bad. Living in the present sure has its pros and cons. One major advantage of living in the present is the fact that you don’t have to bother about what happens in the future. Not that you do not care about what happens in the future or that you don’t care about the repercussions of your present deeds. It just means that your mind is free of all the things that may or may not happen in the future.

This is especially very true for people like me who tend to think a LOT about things that may happen in the future and get shit scared about stuff that has a 0.001% chance of happening and do not look at the better outcomes which have a higher chance of happening. I tend to believe in the worst that can happen and keep my expectations low regarding any future event. This has sometimes clouded my judgment and thought process which has affected me very adversely when making decisions about stuff that matter at the moment. This can also bring out the frustration you feel about something that you think is going to happen in the future (say, a bad outcome in a test you gave) at the wrong time and on the wrong person.

This in no way helps anyone and is counterproductive. One solution to this is to stop thinking of things that may happen in the future. We can surely prepare and brace ourselves for things which we can control to some extent, like a VERY difficult test that is scheduled sometime in the near future, by planning ahead. But certain things like exam results or the fear that you may get infected in the global pandemic and damage your lungs to an extent that you may not be able to take part in the cardio heavy activities you always wanted to do. The 140.6-mile Ironman you always wanted to finish will remain a dream. The 1000Km bicycle ride you dreamt of going on in your 12th grade will remain a dream.

So what do you do? What can you do about the uncertain future? Nothing. You just have to live the moment. The 140.6-mile Ironman may not be possible in the current situations but what you can do is a 42.2K run. A 1000Km bicycle ride may not be possible with the fitness and equipment you have right now. Maybe try for a 100Km ride or even a 70k. Slowly reach the goal. But do not waste your time and energy dreaming about a shiny and happy future. The future is never happy. Life keeps surprising you and the surprises are not always pleasant. If you keep thinking about when to start, no time seems right to start.

What I want to say is, the future is not in your control. Sure, you can plan all you want but no one can say what is going to happen in the future. Who knew 2020 was going to be all at home and who knows what 2021 is going to be like? Act on your plans and live in the moment because you can never live the same moment twice. 

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.”

~ Dalai Lama