What Color is the Sky?

What Color is the Sky?

When was the last time you just sat down and enjoyed the moment you’re in? Just emerging yourself in the here and now? Put the phone on silent and lift your eyes to the world around you. Maybe watch the people as they walk by or to enjoy the silence. When with friends, maybe actually paying attention to what they have to say.

So what am I getting at?

I struggle with living in the moment. Normally, I live in either in the past or in the future. Worrying about my future career, my nonexistent love life or the future role I have to play as the first born. And also worrying about past mistakes like things I could have done differently or focusing on regrets. These things combined play a big role in the grades I get and person I think I should be. It adds a lot of pressure and even contributes to my depression.

I’m sure a lot of us can relate. We’re all too busy going crazy about the future and trying to fix the past that we miss out on life as it passes us by. While were worried about tomorrow we miss the interesting conversation or the beautiful sunrise today. I find myself walking with my head down, heavy with thought while little bits of beauty pass me by. So I decided to change that.

This week I tried to experiment on living in the moment. In my Psychology class we talked about changing the way the brain thinks. It’s not always a quick process but rewarding if successful. So I tried it, and for the most part I think I did well.

Now this doesn’t mean that I did whatever I wanted without worrying about the consequences. Living in the moment just means being more aware of the here and now. Instead of looking down at the ground, I looked up.

I started noticing people and things that I normally didn’t. There were these two people in my creative writing class that I had wanted to be friends with. Their writing was so amazing and profound that I guess I wanted some of their inspiration to wash off on me. But for the most part, I stayed away from them. I was too worried about looking like an idiot in front of them that I didn’t even want to try.

But this week, I ran into them in the cafeteria. Instead of worrying about what might be I decided to talk to them in the present. And it was wonderful! I was able to get to know them pretty well and we were able to talk about our thought our writing and some of our inspirations. It was so amazing and very out of character for me but I liked it. It was nice to not have to be concerned with the “what if’s” even if it was just for an hour.

Don’t get me wrong! It’s not a bad thing to prepare for the future or to learn from the pas. It just shouldn’t be where we spend most of our time. There are so many things happening around us that it’d be a shame to miss.

Sunset with Winter Trees

So try living in the moment this week. Try watching a sunset or delve into a deep conversation with friend even if it is just for a few minutes. Give it a try and see what happens! Together, instead of counting the cracks on the sidewalk, we can see the park we’re walking through.