The importance of being...well...here!

On the 14^th of October most of the world watched in awe as Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped from the stratosphere, breaking the sound barrier on his way down. A once in a (our?) lifetime happening. So special, in fact, that Felix has now retired – having accomplished everything he has ever dreamt of doing. We were/are mesmerized – he jumped from almost space, for heaven’s sake! 

And yet, without realizing it, we have actually been masters of space travel for a very long time – for we are constantly jumping from past to future. When we are not busy reminiscing about our yesterdays, we are planning our tomorrows. We are always busy striving, moving, reaching – because our yesterday wasn’t exactly up to scratch and our tomorrow HAS to be more, has to be better (knowing that it can never really be). Together with our time-jump abilities, we are also VERY adept at displacement – we easily breeze from our own bodies and thoughts to those of the people around us (whether they be friend or stranger), enabling us to know their innermost thoughts and feelings…thoughts and feelings that, when it comes to us, are mostly negative and/or disappointed… At least we can say that we have become professionals – professionals at bashing ourselves. For if there is one thing we know for certain, it is that we are supposed to be more than who we are, better off than where we are etc., even if we can never seem to pinpoint the exact details.

Also, when peeking into the people around us’ lives, they always seem SO much more dynamic, interesting and worthwhile. In fact, we are shocked and angry when those people share their insecurities with us – how dare they, when it’s so obvious how awesome they are?! The funniest (and saddest) part is that we KNOW the worth of the people around us, without being able to accept that those very same “rules” apply to us as well. And also, where does all of this wonderful space travel get us? Not into the Guinness Book of World Records, that’s for sure! No, it shoves us into the small dark corners of our lives. It empties us of our joy and energy. It breaks our souls.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.” - Charles R Swindoll

What to do? Stop all our very futuristic travelling, which should make us feel all proud, but instead makes us become smaller. Start living where we are – and ENJOYING it for what it is – the preciousness that is life. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” - William James