February 08, 2003 - 10:25 p.m.
On Wanting
The world is full (overly so) of people, and people are full of wants. There are two types of wants that I can see:
Wanting what you've never had - this stems from curiosity, boredom, lust, envy, adventurism... It's a healthy thing to want something new; it promotes experience and learning, self-growth...
The other kind is wanting what you have had, but have no longer - this stems from a sense of loss, or longing for a moment, a person, a place, a sound, a feeling... It's healthy to keep in mind that which you still hold as important from your past, so you can strive to have it again, or improve on it...
We walk around every second of our existence wanting something, or more likely a billion things, constantly. Some of those things will be from our past, and some of those things will have yet to occur save in the imagination. What's a better way to spend your wanting days? What will bring you the most satisfaction? If you continually look only forward, chances are you don't take the chance to appreciate the present. Likewise in solely looking back - you will only see your life unfold in a rear-view mirror, never noticing your moments until they've passed you by...
So anyone can say "Live in the moment! That's the answer!" But how does one truly accomplish a thing like that, when there's a past and a future incessantly vying for your attention? Do you supress your wants to satisfy the compulsion to be in the "now?" Hmmm, I will be thinking about this for a while...
