About Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

Sometimes in life we find ourselves dwelling a lot on the past. We discover that the more we try to move on with life, the more the past comes calling. There are also times when the thoughts or fear of the future tends to overtake out thoughts, depriving us of the happiness that today brings. For example, when we are at work, we fantasize about being on vacation; on vacation, we worry about the work piling up on our desks and other activities at the work place. We dwell on disturbing memories of the past or fret about what may or may not happen in the future. The truth is that whatever the past was, it is gone. There is nothing you can do to change anything that has happened. If you keep re-visiting the past because of regrets, then you need to understand that you can’t go back and undo whatever has been done. Also, if you hang on to a guilt of the past, you are only damaging yourself. I admit, it is hard to resist the allure of dwelling on the past, but of what use it is when all it does it to deny you of the joy and happiness of the present?

The truth about life is that it unfolds in the present. If you want to be successful and happy in life, you must turn your attention and focus on what is happening to and for you right now. Too many times, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future or ruminate about the past. Believe me, worrying about it would not change anything. All you can do is to focus on the present and don’t let it deprive you of what you can do better today. You must turn your attention to the “here” and “now”. Don’t become obsessed about the past simply because it was better for you, learn to appreciate the memories but also move on and put your efforts into finding a different kind of good time right now. If it was truly better then, may be you can analyse exactly why - money, power, health, vigor, fun, youth etc, then move on to find other avenues and explore. You have to leave both good and bad stuffs behind and find new challenges, new areas to inspire yourself.

Every day is a fresh start and you can make of it what you want, write what you want on that blank painting. Keeping that enthusiasm can be tough though - yes it might be hard at the beginning but very possible with perseverance, focus and dedication. The past is like a room different from the one you live in now, you can go there but you don’t live there anymore. You can go visit but it isn’t home anymore. Home is the present and each second of it counts. Don’t waste too much time in the old room. Don’t miss what is happening now in the new room because you were too busy looking back or later you will be busy looking back at this time and wondering why you wasted it. The worst part about living in the past or the future is that it deprives you of your creative power. If you are not living now, you are giving up your live because if there is anything you would like to change in life, it is best done now. If you are living in the past, you cannot do anything about it, it is gone. Also, if you are worrying about the future, you are living somewhere that doesn’t exist. The future is now.

You need to live more in the moment. Living in the moment involves a state of active, open and intentional attention on the present. It means that your awareness is completely centered on here and now. You are not worrying about the future nor thinking about the past. When you live in the present, you are living where life is ‘happening’. Don’t be deluded, the past and the future are illusions, they don’t exist. Just as the saying goes “tomorrow never comes” It is always waiting to come around in the corner and never shows up. The real time is always NOW. People who live in the moment are happier, more exuberant, more compassionate and more secure. They have higher self-esteem and are more accepting of their own weaknesses. They fight less with their partners and are more accommodating and less defensive. Live here, live now, live in this moment. I leave you with this popular saying “if you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what it is”. Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope tomorrow. I love you.