the life part of life

"It does not do to dwell on dreams

and forget to live."

-Albus Dumbledore

I stumbled across that quote while scrolling through my Instagram feed about a week ago, and was struck by the raw truthfulness of those words. The quote is taken from the first installment of the Harry Potter series; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, written by J.K. Rowling. The scene in which the quote is used is during an interaction between Harry himself, and wise old Albus Dumbledore; headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry finds a magic mirror (the Mirror of Erised), in which he is able to see his deceased parents, Lily and James Potter - and they are able to see him, too. Harry returns to the mirror, day after day, to gaze into it and be "reunited" with his family. Dumbledore eventually discovers Harry, who has started to be consumed by the mirror. Dumbledore reminds young Harry that, despite his longing for his parents, he must not let his sadness over the events of the past distract him from living his life to the fullest.

I've been focusing a lot lately on my hopes and dreams for the future; college, mainly (see: "Silver Linings"). And while it's really good to be looking ahead and dreaming about what my life could be someday, this quote made me recognize that it is also incredibly important for me to remember to live in and for the now. It's very much a "yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; That's why they call it the present" thing.

So, the Present. The life part of life. (Yes, life requires real-life living!)

I want to sing. I want to spend quality time with genuine people and I want to walk the streets of downtown Minneapolis during golden hour and take pictures of sun flares and eat chocolate-covered blueberries and almonds and dance even though I'm no good at it. I want to play my guitar and wear pretty clothes made of lace and smell the peonies as I pass them by and write words like 'phosphorescence' in swirly script on a page with no lines. I want to read the Bible even though not all of it makes sense to me yet and watch the stars and not be afraid because "fear keeps a life small." I want to love relentlessly and be loved with equal force. I want to live with fearless authenticity and challenge others to do the same. It's true: the future is kind of a big deal. It's even kind of scary and exciting sometimes. But I'm sixteen. I'm young, and I have a lot to learn and see and love and experience. I am here now, and it's high time I started living like it. 

Now that we've got the "live the life you're in" thing cleared up, there's another thing I want to mention. Authenticity. Most of us live our lives as if we need to be more and different and better in order to be significant. We should strive to live our lives as is - embracing who we are and where we are, and believing that our gifts, our life, as small or large as it actually is, is where God will be present to us and active through us. We must believe we can bless others by being who we actually are, and operating from where we actually are. Fearless authenticity, and strength in vulnerability. (A self-authored mantra I've been repeating to myself for the past couple of days. It also kind of catchy, because it sort of rhymes, which I think is cute.)

So, that's all I have to say tonight. Love yourself, love your life - future and present, find strength in your weaknesses, and strength in just being who you are. 

Don't stop dreaming, friends - but don't stop living, either.

h

Photo courtesy of Hope Scott (@hopescottcalligraphy)