This week’s quote of the week comes from an unlikely source, Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise. If you’ve ever watched any of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, then you know that the iconic character, portrayed on TV by actor Patrick Stewart, is known for providing great quotes of wisdom. This one, in fact, resonates with us completely!
“Live now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.”
It’s a perfect quote, even if it was said on a spaceship millions of light years away and most likely just before a battle with aliens! It’s what we’re trying to teach people to do at Postconsumers. To “live now” rather than spend one’s time finding ways to forestall living, falling into the consumerist trap that causes us to become preoccupied with gaining more money, more stuff and more status symbols until we’ve passed up the moments, company and activities that would have actually made us feel satisfied.
The point is quite heavy if you think it through. “Now” really will never come again. When you think back on your “now”, will it be filled with precious times, or will it have simply been a race to acquire without purpose, fun or satisfaction? We’re not saying that you should give up being pleased by material things altogether, simply that you should find a way to put them into perspective with the rest of your life and have them play their proper role.
Jean Luc Picard was a wise, wise man, even if he was a fictional character who wore a strange red suit. We would take advice from him any day based on the quote above, however!
