We spend our lives running and working towards the future.
Much of our unhappiness is caused by comparing the present to the past or future, regretting the first, or worrying about the latter, thus forgetting about the present.
The past & the future only exist in relation to the present, there is no such thing as past or future, it’s all in your head, an illusion.
The present is all there is and all there would be.
My mind used to run non-stop: thinking, planning, and living for the future; while dismissing the present, that I was in reality wasting. And when the “future” I had planned for arrived, I couldn’t enjoy it, because it became the “present”, while I was once again busy about the “new future”.
For instance, I’d be eagerly waiting for a specific event to happen, and when it finally arrives, it passes so quickly that I don’t even get the opportunity to really experience it, and all it is now is a memory.
The solution is simple, it’s necessary to have an aim, or a plan for tomorrow, but more important than that is the ability to enjoy the present, to appreciate the actual moment, to live every second; that’s when you’ll be able to truly enjoy your life.
Stop the clutter inside of your mind, pause, look around, take a deep breath, and appreciate the present, feel it, taste it.
If you find yourself unable to reconnect with the current moment, try sitting quietly while closely observing the environment around you and describing it, in addition to involving as many of your five senses as you can.
Once you’ve well understood this concept, you’ll get much closer to internal peace, happiness, and joy.
“You can’t live at all, unless you can live fully, now.”
~Alan Watts