What role does the past and present play in our life?

What does the past and the future do? Have you ever thought: what is the role of the past and the future? If you look at it deeply, you will realize the truth - they are meant to rob the present.

The only thing that belongs to us is the present, the now, this moment. But because the mind creates the future and tells us something about it, we get so busy thinking about the future that we forget the present. The past does exactly the same. The mind creates memories of the past and takes us to that memory, only to rob us of the present. By shuttling between the past and the future, what actually happens is that we lose the present. The only thing that belongs to us is the present. There is no past, there is no future. The past is memories; the future are thoughts. The real challenge is not to be in the past, not to be in the future; the real challenge is to be in the ‘now,’ to live in this moment, to grab hold of what is ‘now’ and make the best of what is ‘now,’ and live ‘now.’

If only we can live in the ‘now,’ our life would be amazing, our life would be fulfilling, our life would have achieved its objective. We must shut these two doors – one door going to the past and the other going to the future, and live in the day-tight compartment; live in the moment called ‘now.’

AiR

“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. -Churchill.

If we do not plan for the future [with contingencies], the human species will also be doomed.

The benefits from both concept of ‘past’ and ‘future’ has benefited mankind.

Thus the concept of the ‘past’ and the ‘future’ are critical elements of human life. However, excessive clinging and being attached to the “past” and focusing on the future can be very detrimental to life at the present -the Now.

Therefore the effective approach to life is to leverage strongly on the Now but not forgetting the past where is matters and plan for the future with contingencies. The critical caution is not to cling and be attached to the past and future with any psychological and emotional baggages.