Yesterday during Mass, our priest spoke on a topic that struck a chord with me – living life in past, present, or future. Now, to preface, this post and all other posts will never be religiously, racially, socioeconomically, etc., driven. During his homily, he spoke on how our society has grown to live within one of those three categories, and rarely in multiple.
It can be tough to differentiate where you, your individual being, may live.
Do you constantly stress about what is to come? Does the thought of your upcoming exams, quarterly review, anniversary, etc., make you anxious? Do your purposefully plan your life around how it will affect you 5, 10, 50 years in the future? Then you’re a forward thinker. You live in and for the future.
If you are stuck in things that were or have been, or if you are mourning, grieving, remembering, you are living for the past. This is a natural part of life, but we must remember it isn’t a permanent place to be. Do you constantly catch yourself reminiscing on what “once was,” about the friends you’ve had, family you’ve lost, or choices you’ve made? You are living in the past.
The present is the most difficult place to be, one that I struggle with daily. One of the most cliche things I’ve ever heard is that they call now the “present” because it is a gift. With the immense amounts of corniness that brings, it remains true. Living in the now is a gift we struggle to open just like the first gift we receive from a partner, or their parents. You know the feeling – everyone’s eyes on you, so excited for whatever is in the beautiful wrapped package? Another example would be the parting gift you may receive from employees before your resignation – time spent planning it, ordering it, wrapping it, all culminating in everyone’s excitement resting in your hands. Yet, even with all of their excitement, we remain nervous, knots in our stomach because all attention is on us with huge expectations. Now, replace the idea of a gift with the idea of our now, our present.
We put monstrous amounts of stress on ourselves to be perfect in the moment. To say the right things, make the right moves, feel the right way, when we could so easily step back and just enjoy the moment. To realize we are blessed to still be breathing, taking time in as it comes. To be a recipient of this beautiful gift, the present, rather than a relic stuck in the past or simply a thought floating in the future.
The hardest part is finding a way to make the 3 coexist – live in the present, learn from the past, and hope for the future. Easier said than done, but that’s what makes it fun.
Deconstructed Echos 