BY REVNA CEBECİ (LAW/II)
revna.cebeci@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
Where do you live? I don’t mean the place, but the time. Do you live where your body is, or do you live independently from it? “Independent from your body” means that you’re continually imagining a different time and a different place. This time and place may be from the past, or from the future. For most of us, remembering the past or imagining and planning the future is satisfying. Especially when you’re facing a stressful situation in the present, it’s like an escape. I understand that some situations are very hard to endure; however, we shouldn’t forget that it doesn’t matter whether the situation is good or bad – it won’t come back. Yesterday, it was the future. Tomorrow, it will be the past. Only now is it the present. You only have now to live through it.
It’s easy to live in the past.
You’ve already done it before. You know all the external and internal conditions. You know the reasons, and you know the consequences. And you also have the opportunity to choose what you want to remember.
It’s easy to live in the future.
You don’t live in it physically – you just imagine it. And imagination is so broad that you can create, destroy or change anything. You decide on the factors; you even choose the emotions to feel. As it hasn’t happened yet, and won’t happen for a while, you can envision anything you want.
What’s hard is to live in the moment. It comes and goes so fast that you can’t recognize the causes or decide on the consequences. But it’s the most precious facet of time. Before it becomes the past, you need to live through it. It doesn’t matter if you enjoy it, or if you suffer through it. There’s always something that you’ll learn. The purpose of life is not just the past, or the future, or the present; it should be a balanced combination of all three. Each one has its own value; it’s clear that one transforms into another by means of time. But what’s important is not to confuse them. If we get stuck in one of them, we lose the opportunities, the experiences and, most importantly, the unique time we have. Don’t forget that life is a gift.
Don’t be afraid. You have your body, but not forever. Realize that there will be an end, but forget this as you live. Just know that you’ll receive this gift only once. Find a balance as you live. Take life seriously, as you won’t have it again, but at the same time, be relaxed, as you’ll never lose it. Because if you stress about it too much, if you focus on losing it, you’ll live your fears. Try to enjoy the moment. Nothing will be the same, even a second later. Get rid of everything that stresses you.
Real happiness isn’t far away. You may think that you’ve already lost it in the past, or that you’ll receive it in the future. But you’re forgetting that you should take action now, to have it, to feel it, to share it. Real happiness is in this time and in this place, where you are.
When you live in the present, you should be present. Be aware of the air, the breaths you take in and release, the thoughts running through your mind. Even in seconds, or other short periods of time, there is an eternity. There is something that makes this time unforgettable, valuable and satisfying. Find it. And as soon as you’re able to find it, you’ll be living the moment. You know that human life isn’t endless, but if you have an amazing experience at the right moment, you’ll live that moment as if it were eternal.