Wait a minute.
People always think about the past and the future. That’s where we live. As if the present moment doesn’t exist.
In reality it’s the ONLY thing that exists. The past and the future are only in our minds. We can never experience it outside our minds. The past is gone and the future never comes. We exist in the now but unaware.
A few years ago we took our kids to Disney World’s Epcot Center. Before we had even entered the premises there were signs that said: Let the memories begin.
Seriously. We hadn’t even had the experience yet!
And they were already talking about the memories we would have in the future. As if we lived in some kind of future past. What a terrible trap!
That’s not how I want to live my life. I want to live it NOW. I want to experience every moment fully, just as it is. What else is there?
We are trained since birth to live for the future. A child naturally lives in the now so it’s a very systematic training to take that out of us. We are taught that we have to do and have certain things to be able to enjoy life in the future. Then what happens to the now?
It shrinks and shrivels up like a dried tomato. It loses its juice.
We are trained to think that we are insufficient as we are since we always need to be better for the future. We learn that our natural inclinations are not good enough and we feel ashamed for who we are. Or we inflate ourselves to avoid that sinking feeling of worthlessness.
None of that would happen if parents and teachers had encouraged our inborn ability to live in the now. But of course they can’t. They themselves have the same training and perhaps they still buy into the system. But you don’t have to. You are free to choose.
Welcome to your own private beautiful NOW! Treat it with love.
In the present you are always good enough. In the present any relationship problems resolve automatically. If you don’t bring in the past, where is the problem?
The present gives you a chance to respond differently every time. It makes you free to be who you truly are.
In the present you can make new choices. And you get endless chances to start over. In the present there is no judgment. Every moment you are reborn.
You are completely free in this moment. Close your eyes and feel it. Right now you are exactly the way you are supposed to be. Stay there!
Don’t make any promises to the future this year. Just remember to be in the present.