Ridiculous Opinions #255
Once again, summer is winding down. I’ve been having these glorious summers for twenty-seven years now, more than half my life, and each one ends in the same bittersweet manner that they all do. About a week before I have to go back to work, I can physically feel the movement of time; how there’s not enough; how a life of leisure is such an utter and complete joy that it makes everything worth it. And this summer has been more of the same.
But…back to the grind.
This all, of course, puts one in an introspective place. I enjoy my summers SO MUCH. It’s hard to describe. If one were to look into quantum mechanics, you would find hypotheses about the concept of time not being linear, but a series of what some refer to as “crystals”, where each given moment is a fixed point, frozen where it is, and what we perceive as time is merely our awareness of that crystalized moment. (I’m paraphrasing here).
Part of the curse of being Randall P. Girdner is my hyper-awareness of those crystalized moments. I want them all to stick around. I want to freeze these perfect moments in place so that whatever joy I am experiencing can be contained forever…perpetual joy. Alas, that is not the case.
So, we trudge on. I am always excited for the future, because it holds endless possibilities. I’m interested to learn what will happen. What will this story be next? Where will it lead? What twists and turns will it take?
And of course, there may be no more twists and turns.
I’m aware of that as well. That’s what makes our experiences all the better. If you’re out there living a good life, experiencing things to their fullest, enjoying those little moments that you experience day to day, then you’re doing things right. That means the future doesn’t really matter, because your past has been a good one. The future is a bonus. Change will take you further, but change has gotten you to this point, so one must be appreciative of those things.
Our day-to-day can be a slog. I acknowledge that. My only hope for everyone out there reading this is that what they do in their day-to-day builds their story in an interesting way; that, in the end, the story that you’re telling with your life is one that you will be proud of, where you will say, I did that and I’m proud of it.
I know that I feel that way. I hope you do, too.
