WonderFull Living Newsletter

“The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.”  Alice Morse Earle

Where do you live mostly – in the past, in the future or in the present time?…

Do you allow yourself to just ‘be’ in the present moment, to appreciate the lessons from yesterday and be grateful for the ability to apply it today – shaping tomorrow? Or do you waste today fluctuating between beating yourself up over past mistakes and worrying about future insecurities and uncertainties?

At times we can clutch to the past so tightly that it leaves our arms so full we cannot embrace NOW, leaving us exhausted and unable to make any positive change for tomorrow. When we firmly close one door another door must open (law of change), but often we are so regretfully fixated on the closed door, that we cannot see the ones opening up for us – creating fear of the future.  Yes, reviewing the past is beneficial to prevent falling in the same hole in the future, but we must not let yesterday take up too much of today. Regretting the chances we have lost, we so often miss the joys in life, because we only see what’s gone. Yesterday is never wasted if I allow myself to enjoy today… death has no discipline, I could be gone tomorrow. To recover my peace of mind, I must take my eyes of what’s lost by keeping my eyes on the prize (my happiness).

The ability to live in the present moment is an essential ingredient for mental wellness, it’s a skill that can be cultivated. If I speculate about what might have been (‘if only’) and what may be (‘what if’) I will find it extremely difficult to accept truth.  I will have little power to move forward and letting go becomes a painful experience – I will taste depression because I’m revisiting the past and/or anxiety because I’ve become fearful of the future. Yesterday and tomorrow are thieves – if I let them, they will steal my time.

When I’m present, I look around with awareness, I can then complete each day powerfully – finishing it so when tomorrow comes I can start with a clean slate (not an easy thing to do but the most powerful way to take the reins back). Knowing that I have done the very best I could – perhaps allowing a few mistakes to creep in, but then to let them go and getting on with today allows me space for a victorious tomorrow. I can take a new step into the new horizon serenely and with too high a spirit to be weighed down by any past non-sense. The past is not a place I can visit except in my mind, so why waste my time – time is precious. If I continually crane my neck looking back or looking too far into the future before it arrives, I will just strain my muscles and conflict with others not going my way. To live in between these two extremes I find a bit of peace – this place is called today.  Looking at children at play, they neither see a past or a future, they simply enjoy their ‘gift’ – the present, which very few of us are able to do.  

So rather than think ‘what if’ or ‘when…’ or ‘then…’ – think ‘Now’.

Question:  Do you fluctuate between past and future?…

Consideration:  Why do you think you spend so much time in the past or the imagined future? What is so attractive that pulls you there? …

Action:  Check yourself regularly for even the slightest wish to revisit the past or worry about the future – it starts with just one thought.  Catch the thought by applying a firm brake, then gently bring yourself back to the present moment (every single time) – right NOW is the only time we have power to make any effective change (the second I give energy to a thought). To be Master of your thoughts means to be a Master Authority of your life.