{articles and advice | my lesson learnt in stopping to live in the moment and enjoy life}

Sometimes we realise things in life, particularly through quotes and captivating sayings and dwellings and it speaks so much truth and although we praise it we don't actually live our lives according to that sentiment. I've endlessly believed in and spoken of the preciousness of time and with that, how important it is for all of us to stop thinking of the past and the future and to live in the present. However, it's one thing to preach something and to believe in it and another to actively transform ourselves and our lives to align with the beliefs we so passionately admire.

Perhaps we can't be too critical of ourselves for doing this for everything in life is a lesson and slowly but surely we will come to fall into these habits we would ideally like to and we will eventually start to adopt a life that we keep promising ourselves we will pursue. If you really want something in life, you'll make it happen within time. With every single passing moment, time is slipping through our fingertips. That scares me. I am afraid of knowing that at any moment my life could be taken away. What can I do though? Live and make the most of life of course.

I could either be fearful of my time here coming to an end because realistically eventually our time will run out or I can start embracing every single moment and opportunity so that when I do leave, I leave my own mark in this world and I know in my heart that I've truly learned what it is to live. The idea of death is immensely dark but the more we try to escape it and the more we grow fearful of it the less pressure we are putting on ourselves to experience life and the less passion we are devoting to our ambitions and goals. Too often, we have this vision in our minds of where we want to be, what we want to do and who we want to be however it only ever stays in our thoughts and desires rather than being sculpted into a reality by our actions.

When I used to work at the airport, a wise co-worker approached me telling me I looked upset. I told him I was stressed due to upcoming exams. I then proceeded to tell him that it was okay because after  the exams passed I would be happy. He then told me that, that is my problem; I based my happiness upon a condition. That's when I realised that I didn't need to wait for my exams to pass before I was to be happy and enjoy life just in the way that we shouldn't wait for moments of struggle and stress to pass before we do the same. You need to come to accept that no-one's life is perfect, no matter how convincing they make it seem. And rightly so life isn't mean to be. Life is about taking and good with the bad.

I've learned that along our journey we will forever be tested by life in so many different ways however, it should never stop us from living life and making the most of it. It's about holding onto and fighting for your happiness and learning to see the positives in every situation possible. If you keep waiting for moments to pass before you begin to succumb to happiness, before you live and before you appreciate moments in life, you'll never actually be happy or anywhere close. Start living in every single moment and stop stressing or dwelling about things that aren't worth it, shouldn't affect you, haven't happened yet or are toxic to you in moving forward.

I need you to think about all that you have to be thankful for and all the reasons why you should appreciate your life. Right now is the time for you to start living instead of simply waiting or endlessly dreaming without placing your visions into action. There really is no time like the present so stop being so trapped by your past or fearful of your future. Learn to live in the moment instead of ruining it with your own dark, clouded thoughts. Life is waiting for you to embrace and enjoy it.... Whenever you're ready and willing.