The power of the present moment is insurmountable. Yet, it is something most of us tend to forget. We worry about assignments we have ahead of us or mistakes we may have made in the past. Though, the way to find peace is by living in the present. The Dalai Lama most wonderfully phrased the concept by saying, “You are so anxious about the future that you do not enjoy the present. You, therefore, do not live in the present or the future. You live as if you are never going to die, and then die having never really lived.” Take time each day, as hard as it may seem in a such a hectic world, to breathe, to meditate, to love, and be grateful for what surrounds you… and then you may come to find that the world isn’t so hectic after all. To help with this I’ve compiled a couple of comics I’ve used to help remind myself and others:
Overthinking things in the future or stressing out about things in the past (most of which out of our control) clutter the mind. Through journaling or meditating one comes to realize that thoughts are much like clouds that clutter the skies. Eventually, the clouds will pass and the thoughts that are bothering you will soon pass too.
The days are long and life is short. Time, or the way we perceive time, is mostly a construct of the mind. A two-hour lecture with a monotonous-toned professor can feel like an eternity, and yet, on the other hand, a two-hour concert with friends can feel like two minutes. Julian Barbour, a British physicist who specializes in the study of time and inertia, explained to Popular Science, “If you try to get your hands on time, it’s always slipping through your fingers. People are sure time is there, but they can’t’ get a hold of it. My feeling is that they can’t get a hold of it because it isn’t there at all.” He then continued on to say, “As we live, we seem to move through a succession of Nows, and the question is, what are they?” It is a question science has yet to answer.
There is a common tendency to always want things to be different from the way they are. Maybe it’s too cold outside or you want a bigger house. These tendencies are coined by a theory called the hedonic treadmill. According to this theory, as a person acquires more money and things, expectations and desires rise as well. This results in an everlasting pursuit of happiness. Hence, the term hedonic “treadmill.” As much as you walk on a treadmill, you will always stay in the same place.
Looking for jobs on top all the coursework college provides us with can be stressful. Setting your priorities straight can help with this. Just like the comic above, where the blonde boy is on his phone, most of us are also culprits to using our phones a lot, even when people are talking to us. Having technology always in our pocket both distracts and helps us. In terms of job searches, try asking people in person or sending a direct email rather than sending millions of applications. There are often many different paths to one solution, but having a cluttered mind makes it hard for one to notice them or think they have the time.
Life is a funny thing. Sometimes we try everything in our power to get something we want and life doesn’t give it to us: Other times things fall straight onto our laps. Life’s complicated, scary, and exciting all at the same time. Though if I know one thing for sure it’s that everything always eventually falls into place. Until then though, be present and happy at this moment because this moment is your life.
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