Live in the Moment

So I just finished reading “Signs of the Times” (1829) by Thomas Carlyle for my course. No, I’m not going to review it, apart from say that it wasn’t the most thrilling read... However, I did find it actually has a  pretty strong message that I think we could all learn from:

“The poorest Day that passes over us in the conflux of two Eternities; it is made up of currents that issue from the remotest Past, and flow onwards into the remotest Future.”

MY TRANSLATION: Stop living in the past, stop worrying about the future, just enjoy the now. 

Too many people spend their lives fretting about what the future holds: where will they be in a couple of years’ time? Will they get their perfect job? Will they ever find “the one”? The list goes on. Now I’m not saying that I’m an exception to worrying about the future, far from it, I’m constantly worrying about things like what I’m going to do after university. It’s only natural to worry. The same can be said about the past. People can spend hours upon hours analysing the past, wishing they could go back and change something, or revisit a happy moment. There’s nothing wrong with looking back; it’s how we learn from our mistakes or accomplishments and develop as people. But unless you are a time traveller, it’s impossible to go back to what’s been and gone, just as it’s impossible for us to know exactly what will happen in the future. So what’s the point in stressing about it? The only thing you can be sure about is what is happening now: enjoy that.

Live in the moment.   

Who knows what will happen if you just go with the flow of things? Maybe what you're looking for will come to you. Maybe you'll do something that will completely change your plans for the future. Not knowing is part of life, it's what makes it so exciting :)

As always, thanks for reading :)

Beth xxx

(Disclaimer: images taken from my Pinterest account, I claim no ownership)