Thought 181: Living in future is escaping the present

Insecurity is basically due to the fact that we are always living in future. We begin to imagine all sorts of horrible things happening to us when tomorrow comes. We live so much in dread of the future that we miss the present completely. We forget that we will never experience future; we can only experience the present. Why worry about something that we are not going to experience at all?

This excessive anxiety about the future makes our “present” miserable. Just as our past inputs (our hard work, our education, our training, our culture, and all similar inputs) alone determine our present and our present inputs alone determine our future. If the present inputs are defective because of the undue anxiety over the future, naturally, the future will not be good – making it a self-fulfilling prophesy. If we stop worrying about the future outcome, we can attend to the present inputs properly. If we have to worry at all, we should worry about the present inputs (are we giving the proper and timely inputs or not) – and not about their outcome. The output is directly proportional to the input. That is law of nature.

For the escapist and the pessimist, however, every little disappointment spells the doomsday. The habit of martyrdom is such that any little incident is enough to get them into a fit of despondency. If the car breaks down on the road, they get moody. If the collar button snaps while putting on the shirt during the morning rush, they throw a tantrum. If the child were to get a bad grade in the school, they work themselves into a temper.

It is the insecure and the pessimistic mind, which has too many irrational fears about the future. We do not know whether there is really a place called Hell. Probably not. With this type of mind, we do not have to look far for it – it is right in our minds only. We will be unnecessarily putting our minds through the wringer and suffer, when there is no reason at all for us to suffer. This type of mind makes the quality of the mind very poor. It is a very beautiful world out there. We should enjoy it. The lord has created it for our enjoyment. But are we enjoying? No. We are completely missing the present – for the future. We are content to merely add years to life – we never think of adding life to years”.

The next thought is about “The James Bond philosophy”