A simple poll under a video about world problems showed something surprising: ‘54%’ people wanted to travel back in time, ‘20%’ wanted to jump to the future, and the rest chose to stay in the ‘present.’ This is the reality, we often feel lost or uncomfortable in the very moment we are actually living in. We spend most of our time thinking what was or what will be, that we neglect the right now. We rebuild the past in our minds and fantasize the future while our present moment gets ignored. Why do we do this? What makes us want to repeat the same experience over and over again?
The past attracts us because it feels safe, even when it hurts. We don’t remember it perfectly, we remember the ‘wish’ part. We replay old scenes, changing the story to fix regrets like If I had done this or gone this way. We reimagine to feel the warmth of good times again. As Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backwards;but it must be lived forwards.” We look back hoping it guides us forward, but sometimes it just makes the present feel darker. The future is a shiny dream. It promises solutions, happiness and escape from the current state. Rather than living in the present, we say,”Once I get this job…,” “After I retire…”- we put our faith in the later that might never come. It’s not all bad though, one must hope for a better future to stay on the track. But, too much of it leads to anxiety (like worrying about what could go wrong) and fantasy (dreaming about what could go right). We end up ‘preparing to live’ instead of ‘living.’
”No one is more dangerously insane than one who is sane all the time: he is like a steel bridge without flexibility, and the order of his life is rigid and brittle.”
So, what's with this present? Because it feels real and often harsh. It asks for our full force and attention to face things we cannot change in a single night. The word, right now is easy to say but it is full of uncertainties, responsibilities, discomforts and the straight line story.
Here is the powerful secret: The present moment is the only place you have any real control. The only place you can actually change how the past affects you and build the future you want. We cannot alter what happened, but we can learn from that experience by forgiving someone (or yourself), accepting what happened. It’s only possible in the present mind.
Never let the past disturb you, let it shape you.
The same way, we cannot build the future magically, it is built step-by-step by what you choose, do, and think in the present. Every small action, decision and effort leads you-they all happen in the present.
If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.
Lao Tzu
Just start small, start today. When you catch yourself lost in regret or worry, just gently notice it and softly, bring your attention back to what originally matters right now. Remember this moment whether ‘good or bad’ won’t last forever. Don’t be harsh on yourself, live the ordinary: taste the rain, listen to people’s laughter, connect with others, feel pain and heal, make choices that shape you.
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift that's why they call it present” ― Kung Fu Panda
PEACE🕊️
