Pathwalking 97
Life is meant to be lived in the here and now.
If, as I have postulated previously, I cannot live IN the past, or live FOR the future – then I am left with the present.
For a lot of people, this very simple notion is hard to believe. The here and now is immediate, it is in-your-face, it is not then, not later, but right now. It is the moment. It is the ultimate reality around you.
We have become so enamored of reviewing yesterday and planning for tomorrow that today has lost its importance. We look back to see how we got TO now from then, and then look forward to get FROM now to then without pausing to explore, understand, and live in NOW.
Part of the problem, I believe, is that for many people now is not where they wish to be. The past and its pleasures and pitfalls led us to where we are now, but it is not what we have wanted then. SO, as such, we look ahead to where we WANT to be. We work for tomorrow, we strive to get to the place we want to be. The here and now is ignored, disregarded, shunted to background.
Pathwalking is ultimately a combination of goalsetting and choice. I see paths before me, always more than one, and I want to choose the path I should take. Once the choice is made, I begin to walk that path. There is a definite end goal in sight.
BUT, I have said repeatedly, paths are rarely straight, seldom without unexpected twists and turns and redirections, and possibly will be shifted or changed along the way. Knowing this for what it is, the best way to navigate the path is to do so in the here-and-now.
The past is the past, the future is always in motion and unwritten. These are two truths that cannot be denied. Yes, actions, consequences, failures, victories, good and bad times past will have some effect on who I am now. Totally true. But because they are past, I need to take the lessons learned and live my life here and now.
Yes, actions, consequences, failures, victories, good and bad times will have a major impact on the future. I would argue that if I don’t live in the here and now, and only live for an unwritten future, life will simply pass me by.
Everyone has needs. We have very basic needs like food, shelter, companionship and such. Then there are more advanced needs like health, happiness, money, jobs, and a place in society. This leads to our wants and desires, things we think and feel that we need, but which we can in fact live without.
Some people would argue that wants and desires are not as important as needs. I would disagree with this. We ARE animals, this is truth – but we do not exist to just eat, procreate, sleep and such. We can make much more complex and abstract choices than the rest of the animal kingdom.
The thing we can take away from the other animals on this planet is living in the now. Animals are concerned with their immediate needs, and do not live in past or future. Certainly they also learn lessons from the past, and give considerations for basic needs of the future – but they exclusively live here and now.
We live in a world of incredible wonder, beauty, and potential. We are surrounded by energies, by possibilities, tangibles and intangibles. When we live for today, we can experience a deeper, more intense, more passionate understanding of this world. That will allow us to better understand ourselves. This in turn will allow us to better understand our family, friends, acquaintances, even total strangers.
With understanding comes empathy. When we are here and now, totally present, we can better choose what lessons to take from the past with us today to help us reach a better tomorrow. When we better know ourselves, we will better know our world, and connect more completely than anyone imagines.
Look around you. Don’t just observe with your eyes, explore with your other senses. Smell and feel the air, note the colors of the space around you. Hear the fans of whirring computers or HVAC systems, the noises of nature or whatever environment you might be in. Taste the air in the space you are occupying. Ask yourself what you are currently feeling. Take a moment, and then feel how much clarity these actions bring you. Do you feel how grounding being totally present in this moment is? That is the importance of living here and now.
If we can be better about this, we gain clarity and centering like nothing else. From such a place we can have, we can do, we can be virtually anything we need, want, or desire. Choices are clearer when we are in the here and now. And the path we walk will be that much more powerful and effective.
Past is past. The future is unwritten. Right here, right now…do you know who you are, where you are, and what you are feeling? The key to every door and the road to every path exists here and now for the choosing. Revel in the possibilities.
Where are you here and now?
This is the ninety-seventh entry in my series. These weekly posts are specifically about walking along the path of life, and my desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Thank you for joining me.
The first year of Pathwalking is available in print and for your Kindle.
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