Live in the Moment

Live in the moment. How many times have you heard someone say that to you or some stranger in a magazine/self-help book tell you it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for themselves?

We, as kids of this generation, have forgotten to just go outside and have fun. We’re always at home either delaying something that has to be done or waiting for something to happen. We tend to wait for everyone to be available to go ice skating or postpone our homework until the last minute so that when it’s time to really do something, you’re stuck at home trying to finish your homework while everyone else is out having fun. We don’t always have to have a planned activity to have a good time, often we can make our own fun, because when you’re with your friends or family the moment you start talking it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, but rather, who you’re with. 

We need to live in the moment, stop and smell the roses, play with toddlers, talk to new people, ride a horse, watch a fireeater, dive into a pool of coloured, plastic balls, visit new places, capture fun visual memories on your camera, play dress up, laugh, get to know someone really deep inside and in turn open up your heart to someone you trust. Learn a new skill (cooking?) or try hula-hooping, fly a kite, have a family car wash day, spontaneously clean up the house, play in a park in pouring rain, make snow angels and snow men, play ice hockey, invent a wacky food combination, make someone a story in a series of pictures, sew some mini teddy bear clothes, call your best friend in the middle of the night and go for pizza.

Life can be anything you want, as long as you try to make it that way because nobody knows exactly what you want and who you are and so you need to express yourself and make every moment of your life worth remembering rather than making sure you don’t miss a single episode of CSI: Miami or Glee.

Imagine growing up and realising that your childhood only consisted of a couple of memorable moments struggling to keep afloat in the sea of endless cartoons and TV series that you can’t even remember now; a worthless bank of pure imagination. Instead, you’ll be left with just two or three ‘When we were young, we used to…’ stories that your grandchildren will be sick of hearing again and again, by the tender, young age of 7, or ‘Remember that time we…’ recounts that characterise all 25 year reunions.

We have the freedom and the facilities that people didn’t have a single generation ago, and it’s changed us…for the worse. Social networking sites are no replacements for actual interaction with people in the immediate vicinity. We refuse to make that extra effort for people we care about. What does that say about us?  Television has made us mindless and lazy zombies, gamers are addicted to video games and technology; and most of all the junk food that saps our energy leading to an inescapable cycle of obesity, cravings and lethargy.

 These are moments you will never get back; you will never be 16 again, never live this day again. Many times there are second chances, but for somethings it’s one and done. Finished. Khalas. Finito. C’est fini. Færdig. 終了.