Living. Here. Now.

Originally wrote this for an assignment in english but i found it suitable for my blog, hope you enjoy!

Technically speaking we are all living in the sense of we all have beating hearts, but what is dictating our time determines whether we are “living” or not. Life amounts to be greater than what could be, what should be, or what will be; many are determined to live their best life through planning a better future for themselves but the reality is just the opposite. When we fail to live in the now we fail to live. Allen Saunders put in best when saying “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans”, when we plan more than we look up and smell the roses we are focused on what could be rather than what is. Doing this one will watch their life flash before their eyes before even realizing what happened. This is what DeGrandpe was arguing, his statement pushes people to re-evaluate their lives and live to “appreciate the moment and, ultimately life as a whole.” (DeGrandpe, 1999).

As a kid I remember I would always eat unnecessarily fast and my mom would always remind me “your food isn’t going anywhere”, the same can be said for life. We plan to make the life we want by planning, and planning, and planning; we need to realize our life is not going anywhere. The difference we are making by planning is being able to miss the future we have planned for by making more plans, “When we do this, there is a tendency, again unintentional, of undervaluing our sense of the present.” (DeGrandpe, 1999). Planning is continuing to control the future before the future even approaches, and when the time comes for the future it has already become the past as we make room for new plans. We tend to do this because we believe that there is something better, but what about the better that has an opportunity to go noticed today? It also has the opportunity to go unnoticed, as it often does, constant planning distracts one from fully appreciating the here and the now that has been given to them. Many will argue that failing to plan is planning to fail, this is invalid. Life’s events, however benefitting or damaging, are inevitable; everyone has the option to spend all their time and energy trying to prevent these things or they can deal with them as they come, either way life is unceasing whether you’re a planner or not. Treat life like a dance, dance while you can and when unexpectancy arrives let it cut in but never lose sense of the present.

“When we imagine and harbor certain expectations about what the future could, should, or will be like, albeit unintentionally, is redirecting our consciousness away from the present and into the future.” (DeGrandpe, 1999). Gatsby is a prime example of what DeGrandpe was conveying in this statement, for five years he waited for Daisy and for five years he carried his love and imagined, anticipated, and awaited a life together. Life ultimately passed Gatsby by, Gatsby went through the war, went from no money to new money, building a business, and creating a home in the likes of Daisy, all of this he planned for Daisy. Through focusing on the what ifs Gatsby let unrealistic hopes eat away at the present. Everything Gatsby did was for the endgoal of being united as lovers with Daisy; even having elaborate parties were not for the enjoyment of himself but in hopes that Gatsby would see her. Gatsby’s plans got in the way of him living his life as his dream to be reunited proved to be a major distraction; this distraction kept his head in the clouds searching for a future that wasn’t guaranteed all while life moved on without him. Those who chase after life will spend their life running, those who sit and wait have life waiting at their fingertips for the taking. Good things come to those who wait.

In the end living in the now consist of enjoying the joys of today and dealing with the worries of tomorrow when tomorrow comes. Planning wastes efforts to make a desired future if unnoticed; don’t let your work, money, or time be thrown away along with the present. Tomorrow is not promised and anticipating for days to come will ruin the purpose of the day you have been given. Immerse yourself in today. Immerse yourself in the present.