This Next Moment
The flow. It’s a point in rowing where all is unison– where people feel connected to one another through action. The boat feels alive. In this moment, it is imperative to act without error, because a single misstroke will result in the boat falling out of sync. Synchronicity in this manner leaves no room for emotions, thoughts, or identity. It is simple yet difficult to maintain.
Achieving one’s goals is very similar. A day out of the gym will lead to a loss of gains. A day without studying will lead to a disadvantage with respect to our peers. How can one find happiness and peace within such constraints?
There is a point in every day, where time glides by, and importance fades away. I dread it. Life is lived at the rate of a ticking clock. A second isn’t very long, and days just pass on by until we find ourselves in the last moments. Time drains life, and I don’t want to lose my time.
Everyday, we are faced with the same problems: what will I eat, drink, or even say? All are derived from the same existential thought: what should be done with my time? Should I spend it working to better myself, spend it with my family, or just relax?
This ambivalence is a great flaw in human beings. It represents our inability to weigh the future from the present. Many philosophers have reinvented the dilemma in their jargon, calling it by different names and yet coming to similar diagnoses. Some believe that life is absurd, and there is no point in really doing anything. Others say that life’s meaning is ordained from a being beyond us: God.
To be human is to struggle with time. At first glance, time seems innocuous. However, as the clock keeps ticking, a second’s value increases exponentially. The beat is achingly beautiful, and moreso, achievable at any time of the day, any day of the week. But it is not you. The synchronization slowly undermines our souls.
As humans, we sometimes need to act out. We need to be. Sometimes, being doesn’t fit the mold. It is foregoing the team’s boat and making your own.
Life is problematic. Everyday, we have choices, and it isn’t until the day is over that we learn what is right and wrong. We are all rowing trying to stay in sync and worried about being the one who slips up. Out of forced conformity, we fear. Peace comes to those who don’t worry about breaking the pattern– the ones who don’t fear losing. Buddhism agrees. It attacks the idea of possession, whether it be identity or materiality.
Everyday, we stare at the clock. We face the same problem: stay on the beaten path… or row your own boat. Not staying within synchronization does not equate to failing. There is no universal law or commandment– only social convention. The choice is up to you. Failing according to the metrics of the masses is not a waste of time. It can actually make the most of it.