All You Have is the Present Moment
You’ve probably heard people saying after an exam that what if I had done this or what if I had done that. In everyday life we hear such statements of people stressing over their past choices and getting sad and depressed over it. If you are one of these people, then sit back and think, could you have changed that choice or decision you made. Pondering over this won’t change or affect anything. This is a kind of disease that makes you forget about the present. Can you return the sun to its point of rising, can you return the tears from your eyes or can you return the dead from the grave. Brooding on the past is a useless practice that has no returns except that it increases your sadness and makes you stressful, forgetting about the present moment. We also plan, think and spend time on our future and keep thinking about what we will do tomorrow. Which clothes I’ll wear the next day or when and where your friend’s next party is. Let me ask you a question. Do you know whether you will have a tomorrow or a next week? It’s not like it’s set in stone that everyone will live to see a hundred years. Some may not even reach twenty. No man knows what lies in wait for them so such thoughts also have no value.
Now I’m not saying that we should completely forget the future and not plan for it or forget everything that happened in the past. What I’m saying is that we shouldn’t let such thoughts consume us, making our life miserable over the thoughts that I could have been this if I had done that. Well, guess what you couldn’t have changed your fate no matter how hard you tried because that is what was destined for you and more importantly we shouldn’t forget about now. There is a quote by master Oogway in Kung Fu Panda that,
”Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift which is why it is called the present.”
Think about it, can you control what happened in the past or do you know exactly what will happen to you in the future. The only thing we can control is the present which is why there is no point in dwelling on past decisions or living in this childish thought that you will always have a tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen to you and every second you breathe, death is reaching an inch closer so focus on what you’re doing right now as this may be your last second. Such a mindset that today is your last day will enable you to be productive and prevent yourself from procrastinating. This will also help you in living a happy life free from depression. Build on your present as it is the last moment and every day do something productive so when you reach the end of your life, you feel that you have accomplished something and not fear for the things you have done or feel sad by the things you weren’t able to do. Please leave this mindset that you will go on living forever and stop keeping on stressing about the past as it will do you no good. Change anything in life that you want to change. Read the book that you want to read. If you want to fix your room then do it right now instead of putting it off until tomorrow saying that I have time for how do you know whether or not you have that time.
In a nutshell, it can be said that everything on the Earth, be it an animal or plant prepares for the new season marching forward so why should we remain stuck in the past. It is also not wise to remove a fruit before it’s ripe. The future is non-existent and is like a bridge. We don’t know whether we will cross it or maybe it will collapse or maybe we might reach across safely. As for the present this is the only moment in your entire life that you can control. So the most sensible thing is to say that today is my only day and try to build your character, personality and do something productive and I hope this may enable us to live a happy and live life to the fullest. I would like to end this article with a quote from a book that is called Don’t Be Sad or in Arabic لاتحزن:
“O past that has departed and is gone, I will not cry over you. You will not see me remember you, not even for a moment because you have traveled away from me never to return.
O future you are in the realms of the unseen, so I will not be obsessed by your dreams. I will not be preoccupied about what is to come because tomorrow is nothing and has not yet been created.
‘Today is my only day’ is the one of the most important statements in the dictionary of happiness, for those who desire to live life in its fullest splendor and brilliance.”
