Love the State You’re In珍惜当下

When I was younger, I begged and pleaded my mom to take us somewhere, anywhere, on New Year’s Eve. I often lobbied for NYC on NYE. I had a romantic notion of ringing in each new year in a different country and timezone. Additionally, I did not want to be on the couch watching throngs of other people enjoy themselves on TV.

Two years ago, I went to watch the New Year’s fireworks with my boyfriend at the time at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. We were long distance, with me in school on the East Coast and him on the West. We hadn’t seen each other in weeks. As we walked and shivered in the fog, unlike the weather, our conversation dried up. By 11 p.m., we had run out of things to say and were impatient for the fireworks. At 11:59 p.m., as the crowd counted down, my phone rang with the name “Mom” popping up on the screen.

“Why is she calling you now, of all times?” the significant other snapped.

And I realized how much I would have preferred to be ringing in the new year on the couch with my family. How I would have wanted to be watching the throngs in my loving home instead of feeling lonelier than I’d ever felt in the crowd.

I had a similar sentiment this year. As I FaceTimed with my mom and sister from my apartment in LA, I thought back to all of the years on the couch that I’d taken for granted. Always chomping at the bit, yearning to be elsewhere.

So many of us often crave change. We get wanderlust, antsy feet, and unsettled hearts. We confidently declare our desires to move on to bigger and better things, overlooking what we already have in front of us.

It’s easy to forget that life is constantly subject to change, whether we want it to or not — and instead of expanding our energy on thinking about where we’d rather be, we should appreciate where we are and what we have at the present time.

The only change that we can ever control is within ourselves, in regards to our attitudes and perspectives. Our happiness is not contingent on circumstances or environment; it’s shaped by outlook.

The next time when I find myself daydreaming away from my present state, I’ll remember that life is going to change. My future is far from my past, and the best thing I can do is to appreciate the blessings of the moment.

小的时候，我一再恳求我妈妈带我们去其他地方过新年，任何地方都行。我一直想让她在新年前夕带我去纽约。因为我一直有一个很浪漫的想法，就是在每年新年的时候去其他国家，其他时区庆祝。而且我不喜欢在新年窝在沙发上看电视里其他人狂欢。

两年前我和我的当时的男朋友去了三藩，我们一起在渔人码头看新年焰火。那时的我们是异地恋爱，我在东海岸念书而他在西海岸。我们好几个星期都不能见面。那天晚上我们在大雾弥漫的城市中走着，颤抖着，我们沉默着。在晚上11:59的时候，当周围的人群都在倒数计时，我的手机突然响了，“妈妈”两字在屏幕上跳动。

“你妈怎么总是给你打电话啊？”男朋友不耐烦的说。

那时候我才突然意识到，我多么希望能和我的家人在一起，在沙发上一起等待新年的到来。我多那么希望能在我温暖充满爱的家里，看电视里人群欢闹。而不是现在，身在狂欢的人群中，心却倍感孤独。

今年的新年我也有同样的感受。当我在洛杉矶的公寓里跟妈妈和妹妹视频的时候，我想起了以前我们一起窝在沙发我却没有珍惜的日子。人们总是这样，渴望自己所没有的，忽视现在所拥有的。

有太多的人总是渴望改变。我们不安分的双脚，不安稳的心，和浪漫情怀总是作祟。我们总是信誓旦旦的说，我们要去追寻更多跟好的东西，而忽视了在我们面前我们所拥有的一切。

我们很容易忘记生活一直在变化，不论我们是否承认。比起花费精力去思考我们应该去哪，我们应该更珍惜当下身在何处和拥有的一切。

我们唯一能够控制的就是我们自己，是我们自己的态度和想法。幸福不应该是 取决于外界环境。它取决于我们内心。
下一次如果我不安分的想东想西，我会提醒自己，生活总是不断变化的。我的未来很远，我能做的最好的事，就是，感激，享受和珍惜当下。