Living in the moment is probably the biggest challenge I face in my daily life. It is extremely difficult for me to be content with what I have, when I have it. After all, there are so many places to go, people to meet, opportunities to follow through and lives to live, it seems almost impossible to sit still and appreciate what I have in the moment when there is always more to explore elsewhere.
There are times every now and again that make me forget about all of that, and for a little while I really enjoy what I’m doing and feel, to the fullest extent possible, in the present.
These past few weeks back home have not been one of those times. Between stressing out about my dissertation, the life I left behind in London (and, inevitably, the loose ends I thought I’d tied up), my manuscript, which seems to be getting more and more unfinished (!!!), work and wondering what I’m going to do with this next year of my life, I’ve felt like one tense little vessicle. But going back through the pictures I’ve taken of the past few weeks, I feel silly, because I’ve had some amazing times and reconnected or met some really cool people. And I’ve had a few new opportunities that have exposed me to amazing things. And I’ve realized the things I left behind here aren’t as bad as I remembered.
Ah good ol’ Virginia
I guess the bottom line is that, while there is a whole world full of places to go and people to see, there’s also always more to discover about your little corner of the world if you take a minute to appreciate the present. (No pun intended.)
