It has been said that there is no time like the present. It is the only thing that we can every truly perceive. We can look upon the past and prepare for the future, but we only live in the here-and-now. This puts a new and important emphasis on choosing how we live. It is easy to forget what is currently happening, in favor of dwelling on the past or the future. Such a practice can be dangerous and detrimental to our everyday experiences.
When we choose to forgo the now in favor of what was, or what will be, we can never appreciate who we are, what we have, or who we have in our lives. We can plan for things, but never truly experience them. We can dwell on things, instead of living them. In essence, our life becomes much like a t.v. show or a movie. Our mind is simply a reel of the past or future. We are never actually doing something, just living the mental appreciation of things.
To prepare and learn are two important and necessary things, but when they inhibit our ability to actually BE, then we lose an irreplaceable piece of our humanity. We are defined by what we experience, and how it changes us. If we never experience, but simply anticipate, we lessen what we can become and limit ourselves to a muted existence. This is possibly the greatest crime we commit on our own potential. As we cage ourselves within bounds of disbelief, fear, or lack of trust we strengthen the bonds of our mortality. We are less able to live beyond ourselves and become more that simply the sum of our experiences. To transcend ourselves and become something more, we need to unleash all of the potential bound within us. Then we will be free.
