I used to study at a Second Cup café on one of the main streets in downtown Montreal. It was open 24 hours and, more often than not, full of students studying. At the same time, at night there would often be groups of drunk students coming or going from apartments and bars along the same street.
Somehow – I experienced many occasions where I was:
- Sitting in the cafe and wishing I was on the street partying
- Being on the street partying and wishing I was in the Second Cup studying
I’ve also experienced:
- Lying in bed with a girl and wishing I was working or could just get some (enough) sleep that night
- Lying in bed awake alone wishing I was with a girl
I’ve also been:
- At school looking forward to going home for the holidays
- Home at Christmas or summer and waiting to go back to school
Isn’t this a crazy way to live? But I don’t think I’m the only one.
Is it just the nature of the mind? It seems to be the nature of mine.
Often I feel like I want to be somewhere else even when I’m doing something that I want to be doing.
It’s like wherever I am, my mind is always able to create a better alternative that’s more fun, more productive, more fulfilling, and so on.
And it seems, the more I think about it, like a lot of happiness comes from just learning to be present with what I’m doing – whatever it is.
What do you think?