Embrace The Moment: How To Live In The Now | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Embrace The Moment: All We Have Is Now

The significant, resounding now.

6247
peaceful look at moon from mountain ranges, moment in time

Life is all about experiences. Those experiences shape us into who we are. The emotions we feel as an after-effect can make all of the difference.

Feeling lost. Feeling found. Feeling helpless. Feeling hope. Feeling loss. Feeling elation. Feeling heartbreak. Feeling love. Experiencing change. Learning about yourself. Learning about others. Experiencing for yourself what others have only ever written about or witnessed. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to feel all of these things. And if you're really lucky, you'll feel them in the moment it's happening.

woman lives in the moment Photo by Tyler Casey on Unsplash

All we have is this moment. The significant, resounding now. If we look too far ahead, we get anxious. If we dwell too far in the past, we get lost in what was. We can only take now and shape it into what we want it to be.

We’ve grown too comfortable in our existence. We’re merely drifting through life waiting for something new to happen. We are waiting on something that comes next. We are waiting for the future because our hope is that the future will be better. When we do that, we’re missing all of the possibilities we have access to now.

man is deep in thought with the sunlight Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash

Maybe we don’t take more chances because we think we’ll be better prepared for it later on. We rationalize the thought that the future “me” will have more knowledge and will therefore be more willing to take on the challenge. But that’s not how life works. We’ll never fully be ready for anything. We’re not born with the knowledge of how to do everything. It’s difficult to get past the comfort of routine, but once you make a habit of taking chances, it gets easier every time.

Use that uncertainty to fuel you into figuring things out. Life’s uncertainty is meant to spur us into action. It is meant to keep us on our toes and inspire curiosity. Uncertainty and the moment we are given right now are meant to be used to make ourselves better. To make our world better. Every continued moment of now is how progress is made.

In the end, every one of us is scared. We never fully get past that unnerving feeling. That’s the gift of life. Life wants us to utilize that feeling so that we continue to explore. So that we don’t have to wonder what’s around the bend. We already know that death is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make the most of the journey. It doesn’t mean that we have to make things harder in order for them to be worth something.

Make this moment about forgiveness. About reaching for something more. Shape this moment into kindness. Appreciate everything and everyone that allowed you to get you where you are today. Even appreciate the ones who stood in your way. Become aware of every detail. Let go of your expectations of what you think the future has to be. After this moment, there will be more. But none will be as good as now.

woman holds sparkler, enjoying the moment Photo by Morgan Sessions on Unsplash

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Adulting

6 Unrealistic Expectations Society Has For Young Adults

Don't let the thesaurus-inspired vocabularies in our résumés fool you. We're actually just big kids.

2360
boy in adult clothes

Well over four feet tall and 100 pounds in weight, many of us "young adults" of the world still consider ourselves children. Big, working, college-attending, beer-drinking children. We may live on our own, know how to cook noodles, and occasionally use a planner, but don't be fooled; the youthful tendencies that reside within us still make their way into our daily lives. From choosing to stay up until 3:00 a.m. playing video games on a school night to going out in 30 degree weather without a coat, we still make decisions that our parents and grandparents would shake their heads at in disappointment. So why are we expected to know exactly how to be a wise, professional, sensible adult? It's not that we're irresponsible (for the most part, anyway). It's that we are young, inexperienced, and still have the sought-after, enthusiastic mentality that we can do and be whatever we want, which has not yet been tarnished by the reality of the world. These are just a few of the unrealistic expectations that society has for young adults.

Keep Reading...Show less
pizza
Fandango

There are a lot of foods in this world, but there is only one dish that stands above the rest: Pizza. If you're close to me or at least know who I am, then you know that I'm totally obsessed with pizza. It's one of my favorite things to eat and I will NEVER turn down a slice, even if it doesn't have my favorite toppings. There isn't a day that goes by where I'm not thinking about pizza. I even sleep with a pizza pillow every night! There are many reasons why pizza stands above all other foods, and here are just a couple reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less
sex and the city
Warner Bros. Television

1. You don't have to feel guilty about flirting with customers for tips (or just for shits and giggles).

2. You can be obnoxiously flirtatious with anyone you want. You are free to be that girl that flirts with everybody and makes 'em all smile (it's especially fun when the guy is as cute as Collin Jost). No shame.

3. Making random men nervous with your superior beauty and intense eye contact just for the hell of it is really amusing and empowering.

4. No one gives two poops if ya legs are hairy (your man shouldn't either but *Kermit the Frog meme* That's none of my business)

5. The toilet seat will remain down.

6. There's more money to spend on yourself.

7. There's always this secret butterfly in your tummy that marvels at the possibility that when you go out this weekend you're gonna meet someone super handsome/wonderful/prince-like and have this moment of dazzling dalliance.

8. Nothing is that serious...you can take it all with a grain of salt...you don't owe anybody anything.

9. You can dance with anyone and everyone...or no one (Hello frat boi w/ glasses, I see you).

10. You don't have to fluff anyone's ego but your own.

11. Free drinks and dinners from single guys (It's not taking advantage if they're offering; a girl's gotta eat).

12. You have more time to learn how to love and improve yourself rather than constantly pouring your energy into another person.

13. You don't have to sacrifice your cheesy Jen Aniston rom-coms and Gilmore Girls for his Fast and Furious/other dumb action movie featuring blonde that is only in the movie to supply a relationship to the male lead and to make him look more masculine/empowered in juxtaposition (In other words, you don't have to deal with a guy being a crabby Patty while you watch your cute movies).

14. You can daydream about what your future husband may be doing right now (and not get stressed/guilty out because you're not picturing your current boyfriend that's crazy about you as your future husband).

15. There is more time to be spent with your girlfriends.

Girls Night In
Milk + Blush

We've all been there - you've been saying since Tuesday after French that this weekend is the weekend. You're finally going to break out those new heels and actually put on eyeliner on and make this Friday night be one for the memory books! That is, of course, until Girls Night Out turned into...Girls Night In.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

What Is Your Zodiac GIF?

Characteristics of the astrological signs, explained through GIFS.

855
zodiac
Wordpress

Whether you believe astrology is a legitimate "science" or not, we have all found ourselves looking at our horoscopes from time to time. The 12 astrological signs all fall under one of four elements: air, water, earth, or fire. Air signs are rational, social, and love to communicate with others. Water signs are are emotional, intuitive, and mysterious. Fire signs tend to be passionate, creative, and adventurous. Earth signs are conservative, realistic, and loyal.

Each sign is determined by the relative positions of celestial bodies to ourselves at our moment of birth, which is said to influence our personalities. Find your zodiac GIF below, based on the traits and characteristics provided by each sign.

***Disclaimer: GIFS are meant to be lighthearted and are based on descriptions of signs from http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments