Poppin’ Molly – Eyes on the prize

Molly Regan

I try very hard to live in the moment and take on the opportunities of life as the present themselves. Mindfulness is an incredibly difficult skill to master, but one that is well worth the effort to cultivate. In a world filled with noise pollution and useless trivia, our basic instinct has turned to seeking distraction. Though it may seem ridiculous to have to train ourselves to take things moment by moment, our move to a plugged-in society has made the purposeful cultivation of mindfulness a necessity. By remaining present in the moment, and mastering control over our bodies and minds, we have the ability to lead a much richer life.

But it would seem, ladies, that many of us have failed when it comes to mastering our mind-body connection. Clearly, we as a collective fandom have been slacking in our quest to become present in the moment. We have become so consumed with our own thoughts and fantasies that our vision has become blurred. Rather than opening our eyes to the opportunities that are right in front of us, we chose to daydream. We fell into a dangerous trap. We were so busy thinking about the idea of living that we forget to actually go out and live life! Our rich inner worlds have become a fence shielding us from the beauty of the reality in front of our own two eyes.

We have all paid a hefty price for our all-consuming thoughts.

How else can you explain the news that Chris Evans is officially off the market? It was reported this past week that the fourth hottest Chris in Hollywood (it goes Hemsworth, Pratt, Pine and then Evans) has been romantically linked to actress Lily Collins. This meeting of the world’s most perfectly manicured eyebrows has dashed the hopes and dreams of thousands of fangirls who have been playing the watchful waiting game for years. Many of us cried that if it wasn’t for that damn Lily Collins, we could still have a chance! But I think if we all take a closer look, we can see that we gave up power to Ms. Collins all along.

Where did we go wrong? Were we so consumed with our Captain America slash fiction that we neglected our surveillance footage of the celebrity? Did we lose track of time while we were photoshopping our faces into paparazzi photos? Did we pass out longer than normal after writing another sonnet in our blood? I know we all try to maintain a laser focus on the heartthrob, but for Christ’s sake we’re only human! Our minds wander. Our bodies get antsy to move. And at some point we have to allow ourselves to sleep after 72 straight hours camped outside his house.

It could be any of these thing, really. It was not a single failure, but rather a collection of symptoms caused by our inability to master our thoughts. We have so severely undervalued the virtues of patience, stillness and peace that we must begrudgingly accepted the heart-wrenching consequences. In the end, Lily Collins could only win because of our failure.

The important lesson here is that while we were repeatedly writing “Mrs. Evans” across our binders, Lily Collins was taking advantage of the moment. She never opted to put her plans on hold, even after realizing that she smelled almost identical to the raccoon raiding Chris Evans’ garbage can. She never succumbed to exhaustion, even after her sleep deprivation had her thinking that, yeah, we definitely don’t need a Black Widow movie. She never had to take a break to eat – she had learned to subsist off Chris Evans’ half-eaten sandwiches and protein bars. She refused to get stuck in the fantasy – she chose to take advantage of the opportunities presented to her.

Lily Collins never took a break, no matter how strong the biological urge. She never let her thoughts wander, even when it may have been in her best interest. Underneath her perfectly-groomed, yet bizarrely caterpillar-like eyebrows were two eyes laser focused on the prize – the seemingly-unattainable love of Chris Evans. Lily Collins showed us what one can achieve when you learn to harness the power of your mind and body in order to be present in the moment.

And that, ladies, is how to win a man’s heart.