Isn't life weird? I mean, honestly, are you where you envisioned yourself ten years ago? I know I'm not. I am not even close to where I planned I would be, but, I am happy. But that's beside the point. My point is that life is strange. It takes you so many different places, and if you're not present in the proverbial "now" you'll miss out on the journey. And that's what it's all about now, isn't it? The journey? I'm sure many would say that the destination is what matters, not how you got there, but the getting there is the best part. Getting there is how you grow and learn. Getting there is full of twists and turns, love and heartache, tears, pain, joy, sorrow, exuberance...you get the idea. The journey to our final destination, whatever and wherever that may be, is what we call life. So, if you're focusing only on your goal, your end, your destination, then, are you living? Are you really finding those moments in life that make it worth being alive?
I am a planner. My whole life I've been someone who looks ahead to the next great thing. I look for destinations, I set goals, I take steps and I reach them. I am impatient for the passing of time. I am always imagining what it will be like when I reach said goals. But the thing is, that when I actually get there, I am rarely satisfied and always planning for that next thing. What is up with that? I am an achiever, yes. But I have to just stop sometimes and see right now for what it is. Right now is made up of all those amazing moments that make life. And, in very little time, life can completely change. I've seen this time and time again. In the blink of an eye, life changes. Like when someone you love passes on to their next life. Or when you fall in love. For me, these two tings have certainly happened, more than once. Life is never the same after such an event. When my mom passed away, obviously, my life changed utterly and completely. Since then, I have seen many people pass on from this life, and each time, I have been changed irreparably. Life is not the same without the people you care about in it.
Falling in love is also one of those complete life changers, and for me, it's generally a knee jerk reaction. When I was a kid, I loved so many people fiercely and intensely, and each time, it was like I was punched in the gut one moment. I still carry that love with me to this day. It will never go away. Ever. It still happens like that. Within two weeks of casually dating my husband, I knew I was completely in love with him. I even remember saying, out loud, that I would marry him. And I did. It's like that with friends too. When I meet someone I connect with, it's instant. For my part, I usually know who I am going to be close with and who I am not going to pursue a relationship with. In the past five years, it's definitely been a tricky thing for me, but I have begun opening up a lot more to the people around me and I'm just falling in love with people all over again, or for the first time. It's just as intense and fierce as it ever was. My heart is like, "Hi, I'm Dara. And, I will love you forever. So there." It's a funny thing. But if I hadn't taken time out of my planned, busy, scheduled life, I would never have had opportunity to meet either my husband or my dear friends who I cherish so much. Does that make sense? It's taking a few moments to stop, and look at what is around you. It's seeing the journey, and adding things to it that make it so rich.
The richness of life is absolutely astounding. I am always flat broke, but I have so much more than money. I am incredibly wealthy! I sometimes forget; I get so wrapped up in the schedule and the goals (like how I'm stupidly impatient about getting my Master's) that I can miss those special moments that make life, the wonderful journey that it is, worth while. Like those magic moments I talked about in my last post, it's the journey that you're on right now that makes life. While we have to adhere to the 9-5 life our society has put in place, to a certain extent anyway, we can still take notice of the journey we're on and make sure we're making it worth while. I struggle sometimes with the fact that I want to be taking my Master's, moving into writing in a more professional capacity, teaching at colleges and universities etcetera, but I know that the life I am living right at this moment is insanely rich. What's more is that the richness just keeps on getting deeper and more vast with each new relationship I make (or re-make, as the case may be), with each moment I spend with my children, my husband, my sister, my father, my family, my dear friends...I could go on and on. You get the idea.
So my friends, here's to the journey. This life we've been given is insanely awesome, full of good and bad, full of happy and sad, anger, and joy. Don't miss it by only being able to focus on the future. While I am certainly in favor of planning for your future, setting goals and taking steps to get what you want and go where you want, I also recognize how important it is to take stock of your journey from time to time, and to make sure you're making the most of each moment. When the moment is gone, all that is left is a memory. Make it a good and lasting one.
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