The Power Of Now
I was watching this cheap Hindi film song today. And it got me thinking. (Strange thing to happen while watching Karshima Kapoor and Govinda, but I had to occupy my thoughts somehow!) I was thinking about Karishma then and Karishma now. And then I thought, in a few years, she will be old and so will everyone else! What will she be doing then? But then, these stars have at least, what? 10 years more of looking pretty? So why was I thinking about what is going to happen 10 years from now?
We all seem to be so hung up on the future. Every action we take seems to have a consequence in the future. We start planning for it even as early as 8th grade. What do we want with our lives…what do we need to do to get there…how is it going to be once we get there…what are our lives going to be like. Sometimes, I feel like I think about the future so much, that I’m missing out on the present!
My parents get into these moods sometimes. Whenever I hit a milestone, or turn a year older, or even look slightly different…they get into the she-is-growing-up-so-fast-and-will-soon-move-away-and-leave-us-all-alone mode. I guess all parents do that. But I’m here NOW aren’t I? Where is the need to talk about marriage, motherhood, or even COLLEGE at this point?! My mom says that the reason older people get depressed is that once you have lived life, there is no more to look forward to. What I don’t understand is, why can’t we enjoy the moment? Why is PLANNING for later more important than living for now?
In our process of focussing so completely on what is to come, do we miss out on the joy of now? These moments will never come back. So are we tiding them over in our obsession with the future?
It’s inevitable really. It’s going to continue to happen. But – at least at the back of our minds – we have to keep in mind that we live in the present, and worry less about what’s to come.
We all seem to be so hung up on the future. Every action we take seems to have a consequence in the future. We start planning for it even as early as 8th grade. What do we want with our lives…what do we need to do to get there…how is it going to be once we get there…what are our lives going to be like. Sometimes, I feel like I think about the future so much, that I’m missing out on the present!
My parents get into these moods sometimes. Whenever I hit a milestone, or turn a year older, or even look slightly different…they get into the she-is-growing-up-so-fast-and-will-soon-move-away-and-leave-us-all-alone mode. I guess all parents do that. But I’m here NOW aren’t I? Where is the need to talk about marriage, motherhood, or even COLLEGE at this point?! My mom says that the reason older people get depressed is that once you have lived life, there is no more to look forward to. What I don’t understand is, why can’t we enjoy the moment? Why is PLANNING for later more important than living for now?
In our process of focussing so completely on what is to come, do we miss out on the joy of now? These moments will never come back. So are we tiding them over in our obsession with the future?
It’s inevitable really. It’s going to continue to happen. But – at least at the back of our minds – we have to keep in mind that we live in the present, and worry less about what’s to come.
posted by 
@ 8:09 am
2 Comments:
At 9:08 am, August 07, 2005,
Anonymous said…
...very good point coming thru ther mia!!
i no wat u mean! the other thing that bugs me, is that everything we do is FOR the future (as uve sed), but wher is our future....u never actually get ther!! or if u do get ther. ur simply too old or too ill to enjoy what u hav earned!!
(cnt be bothered to type my username nd password...too long, lol)
sara xx
At 9:47 pm, August 09, 2005,
Anonymous said…
Hi! Must butt in!. We need to context what we do in terms of the future to give it a sense of meaning. If what we do now will end now, then does it have value? On the other hand, struggle, sacrifice, and other unpleasant truths of life seem worthwhile because it is leading to something. (Joy, of course, needs no justification!) And when it is for your children, it is doubly so... because then your actions are for the time after your death. Your life then gets meaning and significance knowing that your work doesn't end with you.
Did I make any sense?
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