Carpe Diem

Today in my Irish Lit class, the professor said something that kind of smacked me in the face a little. She said that several Irish authors write about characters who remember their "glorious past" (even if their past wasn't so glorious), and they dream about their "glorious future," but they live in a very "unglorious present."

It made me think. I write a lot about a nostaglic past -- whether it's my own past or somebody else's. I dream about my glorious future, often making it unrealistic. But I live in a real present. One that time hasn't had the luxury of altering. One that can be just as glorious as my past and my future.

And I like my real present. I love it, actually. I'm thankful for my present life. But I know that I don't do everything I can to live it as fully as I'd like to. I know that I'm a person that always thinks about where I'm going next instead of enjoying the present. I know that.

It's really difficult to change your mentality. Much harder than changing your physical appearance and your outward achievements. But I'm aware of the need to change this mentality. And I'm gonna work on it.

I blame the need to look ahead on our upbringing. We're always preparing for the next step in our lives. Preschool to elementary school to middle school to high school to college to grad school. Forget all that preparation for the "real world." When does life ever really start? Life is just fine right here, right now.

In unrelated news, GrapeNuts sound great. But they are sick. Pure roughage. Blech.