Coffee and optimism

I have stumbleupon.com to thank for a lot of my inspiration.  So naturally on my day off I ended up on my computer stumbling around and ended up finding a page of quotes.  

The page I found today was chock-full of superb pictures, but this one was most applicable to my life right now--plus it inspired me to make coffee: win-win.

Alright, now to get to the actual point.  For the past year I have worked very hard on not looking too far into the future because I would worry myself sick about where I would be in a year, how I would get there, who I would be surrounded by, how I would pay for it, and blah blah blah. That's a lot of unnecessary stress, especially when I started to realize that I actually had little to no control over my future.  I mean sure, I'll go to school and finish that.  Yes, I will be living on my own, working, making my own food and whatever, but because of the twists and turns of life I knew that getting nervous about the future became pointless. So, moral of that story: I have started to accept life day-by-day more, rather than looking at it more anxiously year-by-year. It's a really relieving feeling. 


The past though--that's been haunting me lately. I think that the word depressed is a bit strong, but the past has a tendency to drag me down. I've begun to realize how quickly it can drag down my mood and day and effect my attitude towards others when I get wrapped up in it.  Letting go of my past and embracing the present is my goal right now. I have gotten better. Any sort of drama that comes my way, I really try to push aside only because it casts a shadow over the happiness that the present has to offer.  


Sometimes though, I've found that the present offers a different kind of dynamic that isn't always happiness, and I think that this quote is a little narrow in that regard.  To embrace the present you must embrace all that comes with it.  You have to fight, and you have to laugh, and you have to get really passionate, and really emotional, and really calm, and really goofy, and sometimes really intense.  To be in the present is not to be dull, but it is to completely feel everything.  When you're stuck in the past you dull your emotions because you've already felt them. You don't really know how you'll feel in the future so those are just assumed emotions, probably heightened or dreamed up. What I'm telling you is to try to live every moment you can in the present. It's damn hard, especially when you're wandering about your day, plugged into your headphones, and lost in your own mind.  When you live in the present though, you feed into optimism which leads to happiness. Just think about how great your life will be.  Do yourself a favor: don't get too caught up in the negative. And if you do, find that person in your life who can always find the silver lining. 


over and out.