I’m doing this because I want to pick up writing again, and I read that when you want to do something you should start it right at that moment. I’ve been applying this advice over the course of 2014 and I’ve generally found it to be sound. I’m sure I’ve used it before without knowing when deadlines are looming, but it’s only recently that I’ve become aware of the “power of the present”.

Wow, that sounded a lot cooler in my head.

Not that it matters. I’ve been reading the Power of Now recently and after sifting through the mystical bullshit the core message really spoke to me. Stop thinking so hard about the things you can’t change. This includes the entirety of the past, and everything beyond five minutes into the future. You don’t gain anything by letting your thoughts dwell on these things. Just do in the present what fulfills you, and life will be okay. As someone who tends to overthink damn-near everything, this helped me out immensely. My social anxiety, for one, has decreased immensely now that I’m not worried about saying something that sounds cool in my head but stupid out loud.

Because the moment it leaves my vocal cords, it’s the past, and there’s no point in worrying about it anymore.

Not that I’m advocating a complete lack of tact. People still have feelings, and the world still has social standards. But second-guessing each word spoken in a conversation is a waste of time and energy, and makes you seem weird (although it’s absolutely normal). Once that balance is struck, though, life seems so much more free. I’m sarcastic. I’m irreverent. I’m addicted to puns, cheap gags, and non sequiturs. And I’m not afraid to express these things to the people I talk to. If they don’t like it, I can’t change that, and that’s nothing to worry about, becasue right now, I’m happy.

Orcas are badass.