The future is far better than what we leave behind.
It makes me think. I’ll be honest, trips back to the past in my mind and sometimes in my life happen quite often. Sometimes I get caught up in thinking that things were a lot better back then than they are now. But that’s never really the case is it? Back then, well, we were struggling just as much as we are now. When you think of it that way, you begin to realize that you are so much stronger now in comparison to back then. You are now the future, at least I hope, of what you dreamed of such a long time ago. I know at least big parts of me are.
Living in uncertainty is one of the most challenging times you can ever have. But good things do come from it. That struggle to figure out what you really want to do and what is good for you hardens your resolve over time. It can be horribly difficult, but in the long run being tested is one of the best things that can happen to you. It forces you to adapt and adjust to the circumstance. You can either rise to the challenge of crumble. Up to you completely.
You can only live in the present. Not the past. Not the future.
When you try to live in the past or the future, well, you don’t live at all. In reality, there is only this moment. Our minds can drift, but as the world is turning, this moment is the only one that exists. When you can break it down to that, you begin to realize the importance of time. When life gets really loud and a lot of things are flooding in from everywhere but the present, that’s when taking a deep breath and realizing that nothing else exists but this moment comes into play.
Life can get really loud. I mean…screaming loud. But if you can calm those voices down in your head and find a way to get back into what you can do at this moment, well, you then have the world at your fingertips. You have the ability to separate, divide and conquer the moments as they roll in.
Live in the now. Live in the beauty of this moment…the one right here, here, here, here, here. Funny how you can say that, but it seriously is the truth. Stay out of the future. Stay out of the past. Create yourself each and every second.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project
Reblogged this on My New Life.
What a great quote. Thanks for posting it and giving everyone pause to think…
I definitely do both, thank you for the reminder to remember the present.
Living in the past and trying to focus on the future only creates suffering. This suffering in turn distract you from anything that is amazing about life. The Dalai Lama said it best: “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”
So true. I am guilty of past living myself. Especially when I think of how much cheaper things were back in the old days. I often forget when lamenting though how low wages were as well. I remember my 1st job as an apprentice electrician after I finished High School in 1976. I was only taking home $98 per fortnight after tax so it all evens out I guess. Some get so caught up in the past that they miss out on all the opportunities that the present has to offer.
Eckhart Tolle – “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” When we’re doing (in the now) we’re not thinking, the egoic mind has a lot to answer for.
Reblogged this on kaylynnteal.
Reblogged this on theloveculture.
Now is the only reality.All else is supposed. Great post!
Actually, I almost never look at the past and think it was much better then. I think, “Wow, my life sucked, why didn’t I do something about it? ” or “Wasted that opportunity, didn’t I?” or “What a rotten/stupid thing to do! What the hell was I thinking?” All of which thoughts keep me from being mindful of the present and enjoying what is here. What good advice, to stay out of the past. I like putting it that way. Perhaps if I tell myself that the next time I start brooding, I will listen (wait a minute, is planning to do that living in the future? I find these things so difficult).
I agree. I read a wonderful book called “The Miracle Of Mindfulness”. This is one of the most difficult things to practice. If you can master this, then you will truly live in the present
Love that quote! You are right. We have to train ourselves to stop dwelling on the past, stop worrying about the future, and live life now 🙂 .
This is exactly what I jave struggled with the past several years. I’m learning this year to enjoy every moment and live in the present. Thanks for posting this!
It’s true. If we don’t live in the here & now we can all too easily lose the future. Thanks for the reminder, Evan. It was good to hear that today 🙂
So true! And, I think C.S. Lewis is probably one of the most insightful thinkers of our time, so it comes as no surprise that he would inspire such a post as this one. Thanks for sharing, I needed to be reminded of this today!