Time Is A Very Misleading Thing
It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.
Your mind fluctuates between a stressful thought about a future event while simultaneously recalling a thought from the past.
You’re caught in a vice-like grip buried between two thoughts which hold you captive. You abandon hope of remaining grounded in the present moment, despite your best intentions to let go of the incessant thoughts.
The above scenario is an all too familiar scene in our lives. Our minds are habitually consumed with thinking and analysing, not to mention the accompanying emotions which drive our thought patterns.
This Moment Is All You Have
“I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” — Abraham Maslow
In order to experience timeless health and wellbeing it is important to be centred in the moment. Those who live in the past invite mental stress which is disguised as regret, fear and anxiety.
Similarly those who are future orientated live with fear, worry and anger since they anticipate a future which never arrives as planned.
A well-known aphorism states that your body is in the present moment, so should your thoughts.
This is what is meant when one talks about the mind-body connection — integrating the mind and body so they are in harmony with one another. Mind and body cannot be united if your thoughts are anywhere but in the present moment.
It is widely accepted those who live in the past or future surrender their personal power, thus diminishing their capacity to create their ideal life circumstances.
Opportunities are lost since they are wishing for things as they used to be or hoping life will unfold in a certain way. Their minds are caught up in a battle yearning for something more.
This is evident in Dan Millman’s quote: the future never arrives as we plan or hope for. It stands to reason that we attend to the present moment with deep attentiveness.
Whilst it is good for me to espouse the virtues of living in the present moment, it is challenging to keep our attention focused in the present, since we continually respond to our thoughts.
Such thoughts would have you know of your opposition to this moment. These thoughts, in the form of the ego convince you the present moment does not live up to what you imagined it to be, so suffering ensues.
Tags: Respond To Present Moment
