Because Lacan said so..

"Why do we humans tend to dwell in the past or fixate on the future while the present continuously beckons for our attention by throwing curveball after curveball?"

Okay, so this was the statement I had previously used to end my spirals on an existential crisis stemming from a tiny white hair (don't worry; I won't start again).

So quite recently, I came across Jacques Lacan's essay "The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience." He was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who formulated various concepts in the field of psychoanalysis. He talks about the Imaginary, the Symbolic, the Real, and various other concepts throughout his writings and seminars (which, luckily for us, are

just one Google search away). But bear with me because, to get to the next point of this (maybe) pointless rant, I need to put forth the basics of his essay as a preface.

Lacan says our life or human development is divided into three stages: The Mirror Stage, The Imaginary

Self, and the Symbolic Stage, starting right from infancy, till death. We'll skip over the infancy stage since practically no babies would be reading this (sorry, babies, you ain't missing much). Coming to the Imaginary stage - the time when the child experiences the whole world through images, the urge to create this "perfect Self and image."

Somehow, this just makes extreme sense to me. Right from childhood up until now, from play pretend to actual daydreaming (thank Freud for this analogy, please), we have shifted from one imaginative phase to the other. No wonder reality keeps feeling tough (the fact that it is tough is a whole different dinner table conversation).

In simpler terms, how often have we found ourselves in a classroom, gazing out of the window, mentally RSVP'ing to parties we were never invited to, wanting Doraemon to somehow come save my life, or embarking on a spontaneous world tour while our professor valiantly attempts to save our semester ?

From aspiring to be princesses or fearless warriors (and occasionally even Shrek and monsters- if that's your speed) during our toddler days to drifting off to dreamland during a lecture or maybe even a boring conversation we catch ourselves wishing for something more, we're all aboard the daydream express (Choo choo! goes The train's as it sweeps us away, one whimsical thought at a time.)

One window seat during the peak hours in a local train, and boom, you have imagined a house by the seaside, you own the biggest tech company (boohoo Bezos or Zuck), Hollywood agents want your number, you have solved world poverty, and so forth and so on. These are not just daydreams; it's a state we live in.

To further elaborate, you dream or manifest your way up through tons of different ladders, imagining to be somewhere (a university, country, job, or any commodity for that matter). And at some point, maybe you do get there, and it doesn't have to be me who tells you that once that is achieved, we are already on to the next. It doesn't even have to be the big things: acing your exams, planning that Goa trip, or thinking about what you could have said or will say during your next argument; all of it somehow absconds reality,

Is life constantly the passing moment behind and ahead of us, our foot eternally placed between the two mountains of time? Is there even a parallel universe or the world is happening at some place else and WE are in the parallel universe?

While the pain and suffering we endure may seem like reality's way of keeping us in check, perhaps it's her not-so-subtle reminder that she's the boss in this cosmic game of hide-and-seek.

In conclusion, folks, it turns out that the Imaginary and Symbolic realms are our eternal playgrounds, and reality is just the annoying background music to our grand daydreaming symphony. We might as well embrace our inner space cadets and continue drifting through life with our heads in the clouds, because let's face it, adulting can be seriously overrated. Just remember, when the world tries to rain on your parade, grab your imaginary umbrella and waltz through the puddles of everyday life, because as Lacan said so.

I, for one, plan to make the most of it (yes, while rotting right here in my bedroom). So, here's to more daydreaming, epic adventures inside our heads, and a life filled with vivid Imaginary escapades. Let's share our daydreams, maybe the world needs it more than you do.

"WE LIVE ALL OUR LIFE IN THE SYMBOLIC OR IMAGINARY REALM," says Lacan.