LIVE IN THE MOMENT

The 20's are the hardest, roughest years. Nothing anyone is going to tell me. This is the period when the young people try to discover themselves, what makes them tick and what their peeves are. I guess we can call it the Season of Exploration!

_{You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this ~
Henry David Thoreu}

I am in my twenties and if there is anything the twenties does to someone, as I have learned, it is to steal away their patience. I feel that the young women and men in their twenties have to understand and grasp a lot of things for them to truly be at peace with themselves. They have to be able to define what they want and how to get it.

_{Photo by Elijah O'Donnell from Pexels}

The truth is, this generation of young people are so hard on themselves. Myself included. We tend to fall into a state of mind where every thing we do all seems like bullshit. Why? 'Oh look, Person A is now at this point in their lives and I am just here'.

I just learned that Miss Nigeria is two years older than me. Ayra Starr is my age and look where she is! All these things combined can make one feel like they are not doing enough. And I guess this is why social media is condemned so much.

Anyway, I am getting at something here. I and my friend, @olujay were talking today and he made a statement that resonated so much with me. He said, "I just want to live..."

That was so accurate because most times, we young ones forget to Live. We spend so much time chasing after things and people, we forget to step back and evaluate ourselves to see how much we have grown as a person. I learned from listening diligently to my favourite podcast Your World Within by Eddie Pinero that the moment is all we have.

Listening to him made me realize that I have been taking life a little too seriously. Not that I should be reckless, but I should take each day in stride. How? By taking charge of it. I can create my circumstance and the world around me by just living. Now, someone might ask how do you live? What does it mean to live?

_{Photo by Kripesh adwani from Pexels}

To me, Living is a gift. I learned this by taking a step back and looking at how far I have come compared to years ago. Living is accepting the fact that you may be disadvantaged at life but not accepting that your disadvantage is your destiny. Living is cherishing every waking moment. Living is looking to the future because your beating heart signifies hope!

This has come to be my favourite quote. I live every moment. I am not carried by the wind but I enjoy its caress and I bask in its gentle whispers. I also recently learned that the twenties is the best time to live. To become. This is the time to make mistakes and learn from them. This is the time to take risks. Work hard. Play hard. Love hard.

After I imbibed this quote, I said "No More". I decided that I would go out. I would have fun. Meet new people. I will live and play and work. I would take the time to remind my mother of my love for her. I would reach out to friends. It took a moment for me to evaluate my relationships and let me tell you, I have met people now that I did not know months ago.

_{Photo by Nina Uhlikova from Pexels}

But mind you, Living in the moment doesn't mean 'letting life happen to you'. No. That is wrong. Living in the moment is more of being gratefully conscious and aware of every day of your life. It is being awake and taking charge of the day. Planning the day, the week, month and year...it is a state of being that indicates mastery over ones attitude and response to life. Ha!

In conclusion, you don't have to wish to be someone else or wish you were built different. I have wished that so many times. What we have to do is create. We can make and shape our lives. And that is exactly what I will be doing. Creating and Building my world.

_{This is my response to the Hive Naija Weekly Prompt 15}