By J. T Tench
Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer, once wrote “As time goes on, you’ll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t. Time solves most things. And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself.” In this issue of Dont Forget To Be Awesome, we consider acceptance, the indifference of time, and unbridled ambition.
I am preoccupied with seasonal changes, and although we won’t see much of it here in Saint Lucia, autumn is truly breathtaking. The brown-yellow leaves fall to the ground and look so mesmerizing. But, the trees are really just dying, beautifully. Time moves in such an uncaring way. Things, people and circumstances change; sometimes for the better, most times for the worse. Understanding that we are the observers of the passage of time is the beginning of acceptance. Acceptance of the things we cannot change, like death, loss, and unhappiness.
But, “what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself”. We are not powerless entities in this thing we call life. For most, acceptance equals defeat. It does not. You are an active participant in your fate – if you choose to be. Vivamus moriendum est – let us live, since we must die. The only guarantee in this life of ours is death. It is only after accepting the inevitable can you wiggle between not-so-inevitable spaces and shape the life that you want. Nothing is either temporary or permanent. So, take in every moment, every smile, every tear-jerking laugh, every frown. Feel them wholly and unashamedly; love every single aspect of life while you still can; while the tree is still young with you attached to it.
Dear reader, if you want to be awesome, be awesome. Put to one side the thoughts of the things that couldn’t last, the things that time couldn’t fix. In the end, be like the leaves, either orange or yellow, and be taken up by an indifferent wind, decorating some family’s front yard; leave a legacy behind you. Or don’t, it is, after all, your life. But never Forget To Be Awesome.
