Do you spend more time in the
past or future than in the present? Do
you invest energy cursing your current situation rather than doing something
about it? Do you obsess about what you
should have done? Do you worry about
what will happen?
I have been guilty of all of the
above. For starters I mull over what I
should have done, the clever repartee I should have delivered, the thing left
unsaid. A small amount of this is okay. It’s learning from mistakes and assessing
previous actions.
Likewise, anticipating and
planning ahead are positive attributes up to a point. Again learning from past mistakes and
applying the learning to future actions is a desirable trait.
The balance or “Golden Mean” of
the situation is to not get so wrapped up in either history or planning the
future that you miss the present.
Picture walking in a beautiful meadow with yellow, white, red, purple
and blue wild-flowers dotting the emerald-green hillside while a bubbling brook
rushes out of snow-capped peaks. And
being so preoccupied with the past or future that you don’t even notice your
surroundings. This is our predicament. The moment has so much to offer in beauty,
humor and life. Don’t miss it.
So the secret entails accepting
our current circumstances and making the most of the moment. But the flip side involves implementing the
actions to improve our situation. We need
to take responsibility. We aren’t
hermits sitting on a mountain ledge meditating our lives away. We are vital human beings participating in
the mystery of life. We can always do
things to improve the world around us.
Take the next step, visit the
next valley, help someone in need--this is participating in the flow of
moments. Being alive now leads to being
alive in the sequence of moments. Life
isn’t static. We have an opportunity to
grow our souls and improve the environment in which we live.
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