Past, Present, and Future

Balance.  They always said things like "The key to life is balance."  How true is this, do you think?  I think it is only partially true.  I find that the balance is the key to a stress free life, but "stress free" isn't necessarily good.  After all, some of the best things in life come from extremes.

But I am getting ahead of myself.  Before that, let me talk about how I see my own life. 

We constantly exist in different phases of time.  When we study, learn, and imitate - we are living in the past.  We study the past and imitate those who know more than we: all this is to learn what other people have already discovered.  It is certainly a good thing to do, as it is faster to learn from someone else than to discover on our own.  When we create, build, and discover - we are living in the future.  That which we accomplish benefits our future as well as the future of those who come afterwards.  When we take the time to enjoy that which is around - be it a movie, a book, or just the smell of roses - we are living in the present.  Our accomplishments mean little if we do not take the time to benefit from them.

Everything we do has something to do with all three phases.  For instance, school is studying the past to prepare for the future; yet it can be enjoyed as part of the present.  All three parts are important to a successful life, and I feel most calm when I am balancing all three (inasmuch as I can).  I am not at a level where I can easily create that which is useful or that others have not already done, so I continue studying.  One day, I hope to know enough to actually discover/create something new.  For now, my creativity is limited to composing music and writing stories. 

As I said before, some of the best things in life are born from extremes.  When we are children, we spend most of our time learning.  When we are adults, we risk much that we have on the hope of a better future.  Most importantly (in my mind), falling in love (to me) was the fullest example of living in the present that is possible. 

Many of the natural genius' that brought us so far forward, such as Mozart and others like him, spent the majority of their life in the future...and died young for not paying heed to the present.  Many others focus on their school so much that they neglect all the other things in their life.  Why is it always the present that is ignored?  Well, I suppose that's not entirely true.  After all, the hippy movement was all about ignoring the past and the future. 

I've heard it said that C students do better in life than straight A students...I wonder if that is true.  If so, I doubt it is because they were unable to get an A.  Perhaps they spent time in the present, not just the past.