Shooting stars are too rare for my liking. Tampa’s city lights often force the stars into hiding, so I find myself wishing upon street lamps shaped like the hearts of stars.
This year in particular has been my worst year to date.
I think it all started with the earthquake in Haiti.
It was sort of like the foreshadowing to 353 more days of misery to come.
But there is one thing that kept me from ultimate submersion into depression, and that little thing is called optimism.
Through a series of smiles and hugs came genuine happiness.
I may seem like a delusional love sap, but I still manage to smile at strangers. Slowly but surely, I’ve begun to acknowledge the silver lining in life and recognize the cliché glasses of milk as half full instead of half empty.
This way of life has yet to let me down. Just four little words work for me: live in the present. It sounds simple, but it is the foundation for my sanity.
My good friend introduced me to this concept freshman year. While we rhapsodized in Plant Park over life’s many complications and enjoyed “Love It” portions of Coldstone ice-cream, she simply turned to me and said, “Live in the present. It’s the only way to survive.”
Now, years later, I can honestly say that I’m content with life. I have this little Moleskine journal/planner that allows me to plan for weeks in advance.
On the left pages lies my daily schedule and lists of obligations. And on the right is a blank page open to my interpretations. I write poetry or sketch when inspired.
But beyond the obsessive organization in my planner is my “live in the present” mentality. With this, I am able to put down my leather-lined calendar and focus on living one day at a time. If I try to balance everything and place too much emphasis on the future (21 credits, eight organizations and RA responsibilities), I just might lose my sanity.
It is, however, easy to become bitter nowadays. The economy sank, natural disasters became the norm and love transformed into a seemingly hopeless cause; depression started to take over humanity.
At first I tried to adopt the “fake it ‘til you make it” lifestyle. I thought I could find true happiness through a series of fake smiles, but that quickly drained me emotionally.
I am not opposed to thinking about life in the big picture; it is necessary to acknowledge reality. I just prefer focusing on the day-to-day aspects by “living in the now.”
There are two main ingredients to living in the present:
1. Adopt optimism as a way of life.
2. Go with the flow.
This concept of living in the now isn’t as hard or easy as it seems. It takes practice. You must let go of constant stresses and take on life as it comes.
It’s neither the failure to acknowledge nor ignorance about life, but merely the act of taking a series of small steps in the desired direction. It’s breaking down the big picture and tackling each difficult piece one-by-one.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (a psychological theory of human motivation) is as straight-forward as one can get. Human survival details the obvious physiological needs, but self-actualization is the ideal state of mind.
Being at ease with yourself and truly happy is step one to the seemingly endless trail called living.
It took years to come to understand myself, but I’m at that point in my life now where I know what I want, where I want to be and who I want to be with.
Now I’m just concerned with following through.
It might be a troubling task, but today is important; today is my life.
Narisa Imprasert can be reached at nimprasert@spartans.ut.edu.