I read a lot, and I remember a little. But still, there are some lines, that have been “stamped” in my mind and which I have been constantly repeating to myself. I apply something like a self-cure of my mind. I do it in order to keep my peace and optimism save. I do it in order to guarantee myself, that I will have a clear vision on the situation and that I won’t “spice” it up with emotions from the past or the longing for the future.
One of the lines, I’ve been repeating to myself is “If you are sad, you are either in the past or in the future, but never present. Never here!”
That’s so true! Just give it a though. There is no way to be present in the moment, to observe what is happening now and still feel disappointed. The only way, for a negative emotion to be born is if you give the present situation, a meaning, that you used to give to a similar situation in your past. The other option is to compare what is happening now, with a pre-build imagination or an expectation for the future.
This is the only thing, that could bring you sadness.
A lot of people, look on the future, as a rescue. We hope that when we achieve or receive something in a future moment, all our problems will disappear. And after all, we achieve what we want and we get what we dreamed of…. But we are still left empty and disappointed. The future by itself is not a rescue. The future is not a reality. It exists just in the dimension of our mind and our imagination. By turning to the future for a rescue, we are actually turning to ourselves, to the mind, which gave birth to that notion.
The problem of most people, is that they want to get to the final goal, more, than they’d enjoy doing what they are doing now. Achieving the goal, sounds like some kind of a guarantee. A guarantee for prestige, for success, intelligence and ability. And in reality this is just one more way to praise our ego.
The achieving of something is temporary. Things are never the same and nothing material could be eternal.
Disappointment comes from the wrong notion, that successful, means to possess, to have.
In the longing for the future, we miss seeing the potential of the present moment. It is like walking on the path and always staring at the horizon. Yes, at the end you will get to the final point, but you have two choices. If you just stare at the horizon, you will miss everything that is surrounding you. You will miss every single step. You miss every beautiful thing around you and finally you get to the final goal, feeling more empty, more exhausted, than before. Filled with doubt and doubting the meaning of everything you do.
The second option is to throw a glance at the horizon, every now and then, so you can be sure that you are on the right track. But then, spend most of the time, right where you are. To be present there. Measuring every step, enjoying what surrounds you. Filled with gratitude for people you meet and what you learn from them. Thus, one day you will reach the final goal and you will feel complete. Enriched by everything you received on the way- lessons, beautiful moments, kind gestures from people you met. And you will be satisfied that you walked the road consciously!
The future can’t be a goal and it shouldn’t be. The future is an orient! The goal is today. Here and now. To take enough time for everything you do. For every small step and every small act, add up. Just the quality, with which you perform them, determines if this will lead to the desired, positive outcome or just the contrary- it will leave you more overwhelmed, unachieved and depressed.
And how could you guarantee the quality of your actions today, if you never pay attention to the present moment and if you let it slip, while your attention is stuck in the hologram of the future?
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Remarkable things here. I’m very glad to look your article. Thank you a lot and I’m having a look
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I think that you should always have an idea for where the finish line is and how it looks like. But the important things is to be in the present moment and carefully track each one of your steps. Imagine that you are a track athlete, and you get lost staring at the finish line… then everybody else will be in front of you, because they focused on giving their max effort in the sprint itself…
Ines
I like this post very much, but how do you contemplate with the saying that ” you need to envision you are at finish line” then only you can do things better now. If I focus on just now, may be I get lost in wrong track without knowing the future goal…. any comments?