Most people usually have one of two views on life, and I'm just curious as to what views most people on here have.
Some people say they "live for today", and "live every day like its their last". I agree with this way of thinking because when you really think about it, you are not guaranteed to live a long life, so you should enjoy life while you can because you are not guaranteed tommorrow.
Other people say "live for the future" and "the decisions you make now will affect you when you get old". I agree with this way of thinking too because if you are one of the lucky ones to live a long life, bad decisions can cause that long life to be a long and miserable life.
Which one of these "mottos" (or whatever you want to call it) do you live by? Do you think its more important to live everyday as if it were your last, or live to make sure you have a comfortable future?
2007-08-21 07:29:28 · 21 answers · asked by CJ 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Oh I love this question....
I live my life in the present. I don't sit and wonder about the future or wish I could change the past.... I just am. Now with that being said.... Living in the now, doesn't mean that I don't plan for the future. I guess in a way I'm probably in the middle. Not too sure.
I know I could go on and on about this but in short, I feel that living in the now (the present) that I am able to make the most of each day no matter what I'm doing. That's why I'm sure to tell my son that I love him every morning and send him off to school with that in his mind, a big wet kiss, and bear hug he'll know I love him - IF today were my last day here.
I'm living life and I'm LOVING IT! So I live it to the fullest, No REGRETs..... well maybe some, but hey that's being human.
2007-08-21 07:41:56 · answer #1 · answered by Ruby 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even the people who say that live for the future, save for rainy days, hope for the best but prepare for the worst, seek rest in their today, they live for the day that they have, their today. Through their untimely proclamations, they just reinforce their faith in their today, by adding speculative and hopeful dimensions to their mundane thoughts and planning, they try to make their todday bigger then it really is in their eyes; they add all the days yet to come to what it is. What then would save them from adding their past too to the present and living in a jumbled mess of all that they might have in the mind at once?
The people who live for today in true sense live for the world that is around them and for the day they have. They progress, find easy to forgive, or forget thing than might take away the glory of the morning and peacefulness of the evening.
But people who live for the self in the moment that they are, the moment that they always are, and always be, the moment now, the moment present in every breath. If past has ceased to exist and future is not here yet then where is the time that runs through things like torrential and mighty river the time is now, live now.
2007-08-21 07:49:27 · answer #2 · answered by Shahid 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CJ, I too see it both ways, however I always lived for the future and was safe. Then back in the summer of 83 I learned that my wife was cheating and I began living for today ! Drank tequila and wrecked my motercycle,died breifly then spent a few months in a coma . Forgot why I drank and crashed so the same thing happened again in 85 only this time it paralyzed my left side ! Now 22 years later here I sit . Divorced and disabled. So now I live for the future cause for me there is no now !
2007-08-21 07:52:50 · answer #3 · answered by lonewolf 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Learn to mix the two. One way to say it is, "Plan for tomorrow, but live for today."
Eternity in a moment. Living in the Eternal Now. Those are the same idea. If you're truly focused on life, you'll realize that you're living in the "now" that is forever sliding along with you. You can make plans for the future as you envision it, but that future will never arrive. Ten years from now, you will simply be in the "now" of that time, and your circumstances will be related to the choices you made from now until then, but they will also be related to choices made by millions or billions of others. And, they will be related to events that happens though no one chooses them to happen. The future that you planned is dependent on so many factors, that it can never exist.
It is your overall outlook on life that determines what you do with each moment. Whether you waste those moments drinking (which I've done my share of), or wasting time in a two year argument with some family member, or whether you choose to spend each day contributing as much to the world as you can in a positive way. This doesn't mean you don't joke, or get in bad moods or make mistakes. It means that you minimize the negative influence of your mistakes or jokes, and you attempt to make your overall influence a positive one.
You can shape events, but you must always be living in the moment, ready to adapt to the current events to keep yourself on track to get to where you want to go. And you must accept the fact that everyone else is helping to shape the future, so you must adjust accordingly. Never step on someone else's dreams to achieve your own.
I guess I would say, "Don't live for the moment. Live IN the moment."
2007-08-21 08:07:47 · answer #4 · answered by silverlock1974 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I definately live in the second motto. Be careful of your actions for it may affect your future. I think its better to live that way because it won't leave you in any kind of a mess in the long run. Sometimes i wish i could live for today, as if it were my last. But i just can't... I guess its how you choose to live your life. Sometimes i want to do something fun without thinking about it... but to me its better to think about your future before you act, otherwise you could be in a large pickle for something you regret in your past. It separates the dare deviles from the planners,.
2007-08-21 07:35:28 · answer #5 · answered by Tay 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I live for the future because I realize every decision I make today can affect me tomorrow, so I try to make wise decisions with my money, time, academics, and even the people I spend time with. Live for today and it will so be over, live for the future and you will have way less regrets! :]
2007-08-21 07:49:01 · answer #6 · answered by Mj 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live my life one day at a time, Most of the time I try to be optimistic but I sometimes weep for what the future might hold for me.
2007-08-21 07:43:26 · answer #7 · answered by D S♦T♦A♦R♦S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Live today like it's your last day is a good one to go by, but is open to many interpretations. As a Muslim, I go by that one in the sense that I need to be on my best behavior and on my best beliefs everyday as if the next day I am going to be dead and in the grave ALLAH SWT will ask me questions.
Also the future one is good, if you keep it right in the good frame of mind.
2007-08-21 07:34:33 · answer #8 · answered by Strive to Survive 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
for me it's about balance. i try to make long term good choices (eat healthy, avoid drugs, do well in school so I have more options when i get older, etc.) but i try to not get caught up in twenty years from now. i remind myself that when i'm older i'll want to remember something better than studying for tests and worrying about college, so i take it one day at a time and do things that i really love. i also make sure that i spend lots of fun times with my friends and family and let them know how much they mean. so far this is working :)
2007-08-21 07:42:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I really do live for today and try to make the best of it.
We never really know if we have another day.
I just try to take things as they come good or bad.
Change the bad things if I can, If I can't I say I tried,
and accept them.
2007-08-21 07:41:54 · answer #10 · answered by eviechatter 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋