On Instant Gratification

Instant Gratification was a topic I wished to write about for quite some time now. Many older people in society complain about the young 'whipper-snappers' that want everything and want it now! It makes me laugh so much. Not because it is a right or wrong thing, not because it is a true or false thing, but because I also am guilty of being impatient.

We are a people of pleasure. We like to feel good. How do we feel good? We eat sweet things; we enjoy wearing nice clothes, by having sex, drinking alcohol, making others feel inferior, getting compliments, being loved. These are all things that make us 'feel good'. But everything that makes us feel good is not good for us. That is a pathetic trait we humans have, one that continues to destroy us. We can't always do things that make us feel good. Sometimes we have to step back and look at the situation and realize that even if this makes us feel good, it could harm us, it could hurt someone, it could in actuality just be a bad thing altogether.

Getting gratification or pleasure isn't necessarily negative, but we just have to consider and reflect on why we want it, if we need it, and ultimately if it's good for us. Not everything that is sweet, dazzling or handsome is good. Most times in fact, these things are indeed traps or harmful. Don't lose hope or feel dreadful though; if you have been fooled in the past, you would realize it is only a lesson, a test, and never the final. Life is not the final, just a classroom to help you remember what existence is all about.

I smile to myself when I think about all the times I have been impatient in life. Feeling frustrated when a minute in the microwave is too slow when I'm hungry; angry with myself when I don't seem to get a move down in belly-dancing class, when I practice it every day; sad when that handsome boy who whispered to me sweet things didn't turn out to really care about me at all; and discouraged when I'm unable to cry for a scene in acting class, but I can bawl only from the soundtrack of a movie. We all have our eccentricities that make us fanatical at times, but we should never give up or lose faith.

Despite the fright of hearing that life is short. We should rejoice in knowing that death, is a part of life, and that life is the longest thing we have to do. For when we die, we are finished, finished with 'our' reality and have completed our lessons needed to be learnt. Therefore don't worry, don't stress, and don't be impatient. Take it easy. Breathe… Let the wind blow through your hair, and know that you are where you're supposed to be in this moment in time. As my father always said, "Life is like a traffic jam, you look in front of you and there's a long line of cars ahead, but when you look behind you, there's also a long line of cars behind you". You'll get there – just take pleasure in the moment, understand it for what it is and enjoy the journey J