Last night while trying to write my articles, I was on Pinterest, because that's how I get work done. Don't question it, it's a proven process. :) I stumbled upon this quote, which I quickly decided I loved and wanted to write about today.
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| Guillaume Apollinaire |
"If only" is a dangerous way to start a thought. Sometimes things are out of our control, and sometimes we spend too long looking back wistfully and wishing things could have turned out differently. Sometimes it seems like our future is out of our control, and we spend too long dreading it. Sometimes we feel like the present is out of our control, and we spend too long wishing we could go back to the past or jump forward to the future.
That last one is tough for me to avoid. All week I've been wishing I could just fast-forward to summer rather than have to walk to campus in a snowstorm. I've been so bored with my current classes, imagining that somehow my life will be more exciting once I graduate.
But I'm tired of being that person who decides not to live in the moment, for anticipation of the future.
Just last night my roommate pressured me into using her All-Sports Pass to attend the BYU basketball game. I was reluctant to go because I had that Antarctica article to work on (it was still 1,000 words too long), but I went because usually people don't care if I go to an activity or not. They accept that I'm introverted and that I'm not a night person. The fact that my roommate really cared that I go made me rethink my priorities. So I took a leap of faith and went to the game, leaving my comfort zone behind me. At first when I got there, all I could think about was how much editing I still had to do on that article. How much sleep I was going to lose. How I really didn't know anyone in the group super well. The people I was with were hyper and being social and friendly, and my first reaction was to just stay in my shell and count down the minutes until the end of the game, when I could go back home. I was thinking of the past, where everyone got to know me as the quiet girl who never leaves the house past 11:00pm. I was thinking of the future, where I would be happy once I finished the article and got a good night's sleep. I wasn't thinking about being happy in the present.
But then the Cougar fight song played and our team came out onto the court, and it was like a switch was flipped in my mind. Having been born and raised a Cougar (thanks, Parents), it's almost physically impossible for me to stay seated and quiet during a basketball game. I had planned on doing just that, but my instincts took over, and soon I was on my feet, cheering and screaming and singing like there was no tomorrow. I think I kind of surprised the people I was with. They've probably never seen me so animated before.
Anyways, the point is that I was happy the entire game. Granted, had our team lost the game I probably wouldn't have counted it as a good use of time. But they didn't lose (go Cougars!!), and I didn't think it was a waste of time. I had fun. I was happy in the present.
And guess what? The article still got written. I got a good night's sleep. My future wasn't ruined because I decided to enjoy myself. The past was even improved upon, because now the people I was with have a new memory of me being loud and energetic, so their idea of my character has changed.
So be happy now. When things don't go the way you've planned, just do whatever you can to make the most of it. My dentist's office has a poster on the ceiling that says, "Life is 1% what happens to you, and 99% how you react to it." Or something like that. You'd think after staring at that poster for a full hour while getting cavities filled, I'd have it memorized by now. Anyways, I think it's very true. And I think we should all try harder to react in the best way possible.
I'll do my best to follow my own advice. :)
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