Choose reality

I have recently had the chance to revisit a little tip on living life fully, meaningfully, Joyfully: choose reality.

I know it might seem a bit of an odd concept, but it is a powerful one. Too often, we spend time, we waste precious energy in worrying about the future, in rehashing the past. The truth is, neither past nor future are reality; only the present has any value as a real concept of time. So, focus!! Focus on reality, focus on the now. Carpe Diem is not only about reciting poetry, of squeezing the juice of youth till the last drop (still, please do, squeeze also all the flavour of childhood, of adulthood, of golden-year-hood). Carpe Diem means 'seize the day', seize to-day!! Seize the moment, the minute, the second. Breathe it in, twirl it around in your mouth until it dissolves, until you swallow it, until it is gone.

Take an example (direct from my recent experience): you are in a car, on your way to a day at the beach, and you hit slow traffic. For some reason I cannot fathom, some people will predict a traffic jam ahead; subsequently, the delight in the holiday will begin to dim, to waver; the sun will hide behind an invisible thundercloud;... In no time, you might be certain that not only will you spend the day in the uncomfortable confines of the car, but when it is over you will also have had a flat or even a burst radiator! Why? Why do people foresee fake misery to revel in?

There are others, of course, who will unaccountably, invariably compare the situation to another superiorly successful one they had experienced in the past. From that perspective of 'any time now gone was worth more', disappointment becomes the only possible consequence from that point onwards. Is it anything beyond a self-delusional destructive loop born of fear? Is there an option?

Yup, right here: the present!! Why choose any imitation of a manipulated memory, any imitation of a defeating prophecy, when one has the kindly bounty of reality in and around oneself? Well, then, grab onto the present, grab onto reality! Hold on for dear life, hold it like a lover, hold it like a child, like a parent, like a friend. Welcome it, laugh with it. Reality is the marvelous moment you are in right now, with rain splattering the windowpanes or sunlight befreckling your nose. Look at the people around you, who keep you company; or observe the empty spaces, which grant you introspection. Engage all your senses, engage your will, engage your time.

The present is reality. Reality is the beautiful truth of life. I refuse to live a lie.