Abeg, Don't Press Fast Forward

           

We live in such a fast paced world  that it seems like everything in life points to one single thing: adulthood. From the time little Johnny is five years old, he is asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" To which he replies, a firefighter, a police man, a doctor, a dragon slayer, or all of the above.  By the age of  thirteen he is taught  to build a resume, attends college fairs, and goes to career day events.
         Time walks at its own pace, but we mentally speed up the clock, with comments like "I cannot wait until I get married", "I want to finish college in three years instead of four". Now, having an awareness of the future and making plans for it, is not bad. In fact, living in oblivion of the progression of time and the fact that you will eventually be in the same shoes as your parents (without mom and dad and left to fend for yourself), is simply dangerous for the mind and can lead to an unbearable shock.  However, the extreme opposite of living in oblivion, is being overly conscious--something we must avoid.
         The concept of aging is a universal truth, but it can also be overwhelming, so-much-so that it consumes all of your thoughts. The solution, is to live in the moment, without forgetting to anticipate the future. If we spend every waking hour thinking about what is awaiting us, we will never have time to stop and smell the coffee of the present. After all is said and done, and the future comes, all you have is memories of the past.  The memory you have of graduating from High School does not compare to the moment you felt your heart jump with the excitement of  walking across the stage to receive that diploma after your name was called(albeit butchered a little).
        We look at our parents, and grandparents, and find it hard to believe that they too were teenagers. Believe it or not, they walked the same paths we are walking.   Except, they did not hit fast forward and decide to get older. They just allowed their lives to ease into progression , and accepted the challenges that came with each stage. Even so, they did not forget to breathe in the laughs,tears, and simplicity of childhood, coupled with the adventures and hardships of  adolescence. So, to cut it short, let us not press fast forward,  let us take everything in stride, because once those moments are gone, we can never get them back--even if we tried to reach out into an invisible time line and grab them.