Living in the Moment
I am on perma hold for United. I am thinking about the days when I never had to do this. Working for an investment bank I had the good fortune of having access to people that did the holding for you. That was in the past and now I am on hold in the present. Later that afternoon I was waiting in an unending line of traffic hoping to move to my future destination. While waiting in traffic I was thinking of when I lived in a place where there was no traffic. That was in the past and well, that, too, was in the past. Now I am in the present and I am in traffic.
I am constantly being reminded by my many spiritual advisors to live in the present. Since we cannot predict the future and the past has already occurred it is best to focus on the present. Unlike the past or the future, you can do something, but sometimes the present isn’t that much fun. We are on hold, waiting in line or otherwise occupied with things that aren’t presently enjoyable.
Being present is hard
The past is a good place to self-flagellate ---- (The act of hitting yourself with a whip as a way to punish yourself) for all of the “would a - should a - could a” parts of our life. In other words, a worthless opportunity to undo the things we wish we had not said or done. A chance to look at the times when we refused to take the risk to be present. But focusing on the past is a unsatisfactory opportunity to be unable to change the results.
The future is just as fraught with the inability to achieve success. After all, if I could know the future, I would be writing this from my villa or my yacht. Or one can engage in the fantasy of predicting the future or fantasizing about how the future will be. A challenging exercise at best and a failed outcome at worst. Focusing on the future will yield much the same result as trying to change the past.
Now the present is where it is at. Literally, it is all we truly have. The present is full of immediacy, intimacy, and risk. The opportunity to express your true feelings. The chance to stand on the threshold, to expose yourself. A moment to express your desires. It is also the chance to receive an answer that will guide you down a new path resulting in pleasure.
The present is risky. You can protect yourself as you did in the past or you can hope for something better in the future. You can bring your authentic self to the moment and receive a better outcome than the past and something that is now rather than merely a possibility.
The present is the deep end of the pool. Risky, but you won't hit your head on the rocks.
As much as I might like to change the past or guarantee the future I am focused on the present. Taking the risk that I will be enough and satisfied with the to be determined reward .
It’s not easy…..