Infinite Futures
Wednesday 3 May, 2000
I often find myself looking forward to future events: the weekend, a football match, a holiday, a phone call. When this happens I draw myself out of the present and along a path towards a particular future. Suddenly the choice of futures I have is limited, finite. The same occurs when I am worried about a particular event. I worry something may or may not happen and all the time I’m worrying, I’m drawing myself away from the present moment into a limited future.
However, when I stay in the now, my future is unlimited. Instead of worrying, I can come back to the now and all my fears disappear because I am no longer choosing a fearful future. Because I reside in the moment, my choice of futures is infinite. I will inevitably experience a future of some kind so why not relax, live in the here and now and enjoy the journey? I am not advocating a life of passivity here. There’s a difference between being preoccupied by a future event, and planning and working to achieve something in the future.
For instance, I am looking forward to returning to Germany, but instead of dwelling on the thought of one possible future I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy the present. At the same time I am preparing myself for my return; I am working hard to make sure I am ready for whatever lies ahead of me.
I particularly like the idea of returning to the now from a worried future. The worry evaporates as soon as I find myself back in the moment and I am once again faced with the reassurance of infinite futures.
Karaj acknowledged my writing: ‘It can be helpful for others to read, in order to see how the personal development process works. It is knowledgeable, interesting and flows very well.’ Thank you, Karaj.
May 4th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
I really, really want to learn how to do this. In fact, I am going to do it.
We used to be re-active. Then we became pro-active. Now we become cre-ative. Right here and now. Well done!