*This was originally written several months ago (early November 2017). It was posted on my former blog and I am reposting on here because that site is no longer up.
We take life for granted every single day. We are so concerned with everything else that we pay no attention to the moments that play out right in front of our eyes. These moments are fleeting. They come and go so fast, full of unfulfilled potential. It is kind of sad that we do not even consider this potential. Something amazing could be happening in every single moment that passes us by. Our moments seem so infinite when we are not concerned about using them, when in fact they are so limited. I believe that we should start living with that in mind. We don't have any moments to waste on a worry that our hair looks good. We don't have a moment to spend being upset with someone else. We don't even think about it, but it is entirely possible, (though unlikely for most of us, but still possible) that any of these single moments could be our last. Or the last of a companion, an acquaintance, or a stranger... and this last moment could come at the most expected time. Of course, we all recognize this possibility; we simply do not dwell on it. To dwell on the fact that any moment could be our last would be unhealthy. To think about death constantly would be morbid... but that's not to say that it isn't something that we should recognize.
I am not proposing that we live each moment like it is our last. That would lead to plenty of bad decisions that we would most likely still be around to suffer consequences of. I simply propose that we consciously try to recognize, and when possible, fulfill the potential that lives in each moment. We could make such an impact.
Thoughts:
1. Use the time that you have with the people you love while you have it. It is limited. No matter how long it seems you may have.
2. Be productive.
3. Do what brings you joy.
4. Try to bring joy to others along the way.
5. Use each moment to your advantage... don't waste time.
An example of a moment I thought I had wasted:
A few nights ago, someone was very excited to show me something that I was VERY uninterested in. It meant a lot to this person, and they wanted to share it with me in particular. At the time, I didn't recognize that this in and of itself is a flattering gesture. At the time, I was just annoyed. I could think of a million other things I'd rather be doing. However, in retrospect, even if I didn't enjoy the fifteen minutes of time that this individual took to share something they enjoyed with me, something good did come from me sitting down and listening intently. It made this person happy. They were so excited to share something that they found really interesting and entertaining with me, and it made them feel validated when I paid attention and gave feedback on what I thought of it all. Despite this not being a top priority for how I spend my time, a good thing did come from it. I made someone happy. I made them feel that their opinions mattered. (And whether their opinions mean anything to me or not is irrelevant; it is more about people wanting to feel validated. giving them that is a special thing.) Those fifteen minutes were not a waste of time after all.
Is anything really a waste of time then? Couldn't there be a silver lining to everything?
I can answer that as well: yes, there are things that are a waste of time. Things that ruin moments are a waste of time. Negativity. Cruelty. Hatred. If nothing positive comes from it, it is a waste of time. There's not enough time to be living contently through sub-par moments. We deserve so much more.
We deserve happiness, and so does everyone around us.
Note: In the past week or so, there have been two deaths of people who I didn't know personally but were people that I was familiar with. Despite me never talking to or knowing them, they really made me stop and think. These were both nineteen-year-olds. Their lives were filled with so much potential. And now, just like that, it is gone. I know for a fact if these were people that I was well acquainted with, even if their deaths had nothing to do with me whatsoever, I would still feel part of the blame. I would feel like I could've made their lives just a little better. Like I could've taken an extra step to be just a little nicer. (I am not referring to suicides because that's not what this was) I just think that there's never an excuse to not be kind to people. Because you never know if the last thing you said to them will really be the last thing you ever do say to them. And again: do not dwell on this. Do not worry constantly that you have to be a perfect person all the time because that is not realistic. Just do the best you can. I am going to try to.
*Coming back to today, the 30th of March, 2018, I'm going to add to this blog entry. I received three pieces of horrible news today and this mentality came back to me. I'm at a loss for words- all I can say is that we have to let our loved ones know how much we love them and let them know that we want them in our lives. For a long time. It is so scary how quickly we could become incapable of telling them that ever again. I will not live my life in fear that any words I say to someone would be my last words to them, but I do want to be more conscious of my words to others. We need no more anger in the world. I hope everyone is safe and taking care of themselves. I hope everyone is hugging those important to them.