Between Past And Future

Is where we forever are. Well, for as long as we're alive anyway. Whatever we experience, we experience it now, right this moment.

_{Image by BK - source: Flickr}

Even when we relive past events in our mind, that thought happens in the now, just as much as when we fantasize about the future. The past and future are equally unreal, yet we're eternally boxed-in between them. The past is no more and the future will never arrive, yet they equally fill our consciousness, for a good part because we're driven by some sense of purpose; we imagine a state of affairs we think would make us happy and try to fulfill our wish by comparing our past to possible futures. Thus we try to choose the right course of action to arrive at the imagined future.

This linking of past and future in the present moment is necessary for us to come to some sort of satisfying mode of existence, for our lives to be meaningful and fulfilling. As it happens, the drive to reach a certain goal, the fulfillment of our current purpose in life, is one of the best ways to experience the present moment with all or your being; artists, writers, athletes, they know this feeling as "being in the flow" or in "the zone", and it's when they wake up from this trance-like state when they realize the magnitude of the achievement they've just realized.

_{Image by BK - source: Flickr}

Every conscious experience we have happens now. And you can meditate or even smoke some good weed or take another drug to shake off past and future to be fully aware of the present moment; I think it's wise to take whatever chance you get to appreciate the moment you're in "right now". This way you become more aware of your surroundings, see the little details, perfections and imperfections that make life beautiful. You'll see those in the persons in your environment too, appreciate them more, seeing and hearing them better.

But purpose, derived from an imagined future, is equally effective to make your consciousness one with the now. When the picture of that future is so bright, well defined and detailed that you don't consciously have to think about your actions anymore and just ride the wave made by your purpose and let it land you on the beach of your dreams. The trick is to always see the next beach. Or choose an unreachable beach like in an idealism of any kind. True perfection is unattainable, but is it stupid to keep reaching for it? Whatever you decide, plan, but don't hang around in the planning-phase too long, picture a clear future, and act now.

_{Image by BK - source: Flickr}

There have been many great videos on living in the now by different philosophers and Buddhists, but I'll leave you with one I recently discovered by a person who's intellect I've come to respect over the years. Listen to Sam Harris as he speaks about the meaning of life. His conclusion is especially beautiful in my mind:

Why do we create culture, and form relationships beyond matters of mere survival? We are constantly trying to create and repair a world that our minds want to be in.

_{The Meaning of Life - Sam Harris}

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