“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” -Buddha
The present is where you are now and where you have the most control. What happened in the past is over, done with, and you cannot go back in time. The future on the other hand is unpredictable. Nothing is set in stone three years from now, let alone a day from now. Many of us are left dwelling about past incidences in our lives or picturing what the future has in store for us. That distracts us from what matters most: the present.
Why is the present so important?
The present is where you got to because of your past and it can have an effect on specifics in your future. We all learn from our mistakes, find what we truly enjoy, learn what we dislike, and make decisions that play a role in the present and potentially in the future. We are always so accustomed to multitasking that our lives consist of us juggling one task after another. When we are unfocused, time passes quickly as we try to organize what we have at hand and we forget to pause, breathe, and take a minute to appreciate all that is in front of us. The little moments and the big ones too need to be cherished and taken advantage of. “Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” -Eckhart Tolle
Yes, the future is scary because the unknown awaits us but there is a thrill among it too. Imagine if your life was completely planned out for you and you knew every little detail about your future such as who you would be with, where you would be, what job you would have, and more. There isn’t a lot of fun in that, no spontaneity, no surprises. Although we do have stress and anxiety about the future (because it is completely normal), we can help ourselves to limit it by trying our best to stay in the present.
Many of us also hold a lot of negative emotions within us from the past. Letting go and forgiving is not easy to do and it sure takes time. The right moment will come as long as we stay in the present. Thinking about the guilt, regret, or sadness that we have only contributes to the emotion more and our mind becomes flooded with destructive thoughts and memories. We need to let time do its healing while we in our present state focus on positivity and hope.
Not many of us truly realize the differences we will experience by remaining in the present. That is for us to find out and to help us get there we need to work on a few things. Breathing is one of them. When you find yourself getting stressed thinking about the future, take a deep breath in followed by a long exhale. Do this for as long as you need to help quiet your thoughts. Another beneficial way to stay in the moment is to find others who already do this and surround yourself with their energy. Pick up their positivity and good vibes and match what they are putting out.
Just by the way humans are built, there will be times where we find ourselves thinking of the past and looking into the future and that is okay, but we must remember the true importance of the present.