Depending on who you are, your reaction to these words will vary: nothing lasts forever.
This is relieving for those who are mourning the loss of a loved one or those who are stuck standing in a crowded subway train. It helps soften the burden and reduces the pain you may be experiencing in your current situation. But for others, this quote inflicts sadness and fear. Whether you are enjoying a really good cup of coffee or you are laughing hysterically with your friends, you wish that certain moments would last for eternity. But when you consider the fact that our Sun will one day undergo a supernova, thus completely vanishing, then why do we sometimes forget that our lives, likewise, are victims of morality?
For reasons regarding my privacy, I will not write every single detail of my life to explain why I’m immensely content at the moment. That is most definitely no interest to you and does not affect the way in which this article should be perceived. Nevertheless, I am, in general, very happy as of right now. With a few nights of no sleep and a few tests with bad grades, the last couple months of my life have treated me well.
One evening, I was walking home after I had a pretty great day. I felt as if a smile had been tattooed on my face, and I’m almost positive that while walking I accidentally started skipping due to my overall state of euphoria. One of my all time favorite albums, Parallel Lines by Blondie, played through my earbuds and the sky was a beautiful mixture of pink and orange hues. But then, a sudden revelation hit me: these feelings are not permanent. I understand that when compared to the epiphanies that the prophets had received in the Bible, this doesn’t sound like much of a revelation. The fact in itself is not interesting or groundbreaking, but in that moment I recall my stomach turning and my heart missing a beat.
If you happen to be in the same position as I, worried about your happiness and joy someday fading, then, well, I’m not exactly sure what to say. I would say “don’t fret” or “it will all be okay,” but if I’m being honest, I do not know if that is necessarily appropriate. It is part of our human condition to be neurotic and frantic at times: over-thinking is a trait in which many individuals carry, from the philosophers of Ancient Greece to 12-year-old girls who broke up with their boyfriend of two weeks. Thus, it would be impossible to remove all of the concerns in which we inhabit, because without them we would not be human in the first place.
Living in the present moment seems to be a task only achievable for young children who do not spend time pondering the past or imagining the future, but contrary to popular belief, adolescents are capable of doing so as well. If you are happy, then cherish that. Show gratitude and love for those who support you, and embrace everything that brings you joy. And if you happen to catch your mind wander into a train of thought along the lines of WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN ALL THIS GREAT STUFF IS OVER, try and fight against it. And if that does not work, let your fears become your friends; understand that you cannot neglect what you feel, and find inspiration in the midst of your worries. Write about it, talk about it, sing about it, or hell, dance about it. Everything is temporary, but at the same time, consistent. Your bliss might be replaced with grief, but one day that bliss will return: the cycle will endure. And although the joy in which you experience will be in a different form, such as a friendship rather than a relationship, it will resonate in a similar fashion. Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet, writes, “these violent delights have violent ends,” but he fails to mention that those delights will one day rise again.
