I was in the hot tub one morning chatting with an old friend when I kept insisting, “The future is your past!” Peering through my earnest words suspended on the rising vapors between us, I saw him wrinkle his nose at my repeated attempts to ‘make a point,’ and finally spoke saying, “At first, I thought it was a Freudian slip, but you may have something there.” (And you thought hot tub conversation was steamy. Not so, it can be very enlightening.)
Pondering his response, I realized I’d put ‘past’ after ‘future’, when literally, it’s the other way around. Hmmm…I contemplated this for another moment. Yes indeed, what a profound remark it truly was!
“Live in the moment!” I’ve written about it, you’ve read about it, seen it on TV, heard it on social media and possibly saw the poster/t-shirt/coffee mug. And it’s true! Fully living daily in each and every moment as it arrives is being the most present you can be in life. Because as quickly as it’s your ‘present’ it becomes your ‘past.’ Absolutely everything you do, say, or think, immediately becomes the past as rapidly as seconds ticking on a clock.
It’s been said: we create our future. True. However, in reality, what we are essentially creating is our past. The decisions we make, each action we take and every response we give immediately becomes our past as soon as it’s executed. It’s inevitable. Time is not suspended for anyone. We live each day creating our past.
No way around it friends. You can’t fake it. Fudging it with duct tape and paperclips doesn’t work…I’ve tried. And unfortunately, you can’t copy and paste someone else’s answers. Negative on phoning a friend…or relative, also. And you absolutely cannot, under any circumstances, ask the audience.
Nope. It’s all you, all the time, 24/7/365 leaving a trail of future/past bread crumbs as you journey through life. Sigh…but wouldn’t it be awesome if we could blame someone else for our past mistakes, poor choices, hurtful words or less than desirable actions. Of course, it would. Yet, just like being unable to copy and paste another’s answers. We cannot substitute our accountability for theirs. Our past reflects how we’ve managed our future. Each choice we’ve made is ours alone because…
…poof! in a split second…our future is now our past. The words we’ve just spoken…which can’t be unsaid, or unheard. The actions we’ve carried out…which can’t be undone. Leaving our thoughts. One would think ‘thoughts’ would precede words and actions. However, taking a brief reality-check inventory of our past events, we can clearly identify areas in which we sit and wonder “what the dickens” we were thinking.
Obviously, I’ve reversed the order of how life’s circumstances unfold. A moot point, considering as each event transpires it instantly converts into our past. Therefore, total awareness that our daily actions, choices and words transform into history charges us with a sense of responsibility, as we live each day planning our future and enjoying our present. Know that everything we do becomes our past. EVERYTHING!.
Friends, as you create your future remember each moment which elapses remains forever rooted in your past. Aim to make your best decisions. Your actions thoughtful. Your choices positive. And your words kind. Make your future reflect happily in your past.
Remember, you are living all your yesterdays…today!
Can you imagine…if tomorrow’s yesterday’s were all wonderful!
Smile, today, tomorrow and always!
