Only the present counts!
Why is it that we are so caught up with the idea of a future. Tomorrow is all we think and talk about, in the midst we forget to appreciate the present. which is the only thing that matters. Much of our pain comes from the possibilities of a tomorrow. Our anxieties caused by the fear of the future. Don’t get me wrong one has to plan for tomorrow in the off chance that you do survive today and wake up to a beautiful tomorrow. But without any appreciation for the present, tomorrow wont be any better. Most people are just surviving each day and they don’t even know where they all are headed. The ongoing pandemic itself should be a great lesson for us all. Each day millions are dying. None of them must have foreseen that kind of an ending. So what does it tell us? Its only our ego that makes us believe that we have a tomorrow. Of-course one must plan for the future, Some sacrifices must be made too, but not at the cost of your happiness. Only looking at the future is like chasing your own tail. Its an endless pursuit. There are so many stories we get to hear about how one’s grandfather or uncle or a friend on their death bed realized how they had missed out on so many things in life, things that would have brought them joy.
We are all going through something or the other. And we desperately hope for a better tomorrow. I am guilty of that too. Wanting to just sleep in and just skip the day and wake up to a day when all my problems have vanished like it never happened. But that never happens. Truth is we have to face our problems, there’s no skipping that. And since we do have to face it then why not do it gracefully, with a smile. This is what i practice. I show gratitude to every moment that have. The more you change the way you look at the world the more it changes for you. Its as simple as that. Learn to see the beauty in everything around you. These days i look at this apartment building being constructed and i watch the contractors at work. Just watch them for a while. As if i am watching a symphony. Sometimes just sitting on my patio and feeling the wind blow over me brings me immense joy. These small things help me through my day. They give me hope.
Show love and gratitude to your loved ones. Smile and greet strangers. Live as if there is no tomorrow. And quite frankly there isn’t one. There is only the present. So be in it. Plan for each present day. Do the things that bring you joy. Be mindful. Breath, breath, breath. Feel the air around you, listen to the birds chirping.
At the end of the day before going to bed smile. And close your eyes. For their is no tomorrow better than today.
Love.
