Would I Do It Over?

 If I could live my life over again, would I want to?  There short answer is that it is what it is.  No.  I'm fascinated by the concept of time travel, but dreaming of another time removes us from the right now.  In my own Spirituality, the present moment is really all that matters, because it's all we really have.  I can wish for some things to be different, but wishing takes us to a dream world which does not exist.  

I find it difficult at times to remain focused on the right now, for everyone has those nagging "what if" questions.  And if we could go back with knowledge of our future, we might come back and wish for something different.  It's like the movie Ground Hog Day.  If we do it enough times we'll get it right.  Thinking about the future causes anxieties and focusing too much on the past causes depression.  Focusing on the right now is balance.  The past teaches us so we can apply our knowledge to the future.

Because we aren't perfect we'd like to go back and correct our mistakes.  Everyone wishes they could go back with the knowledge of our future selves.  But life is learned from our mistakes.  Those of us who are older have just simply had more time to make more mistakes.  But life is lived from the present forward.  There is no question that time travel is a fascinating concept.  But we can get lost in dream worlds.

Focusing on the now doesn't allow for much wishful thinking either past or future.  Everyone day dreams.  But some day dreams border on a psychosis where we don't live in reality.  This is why it is so important to focus on the right now.  Day dreams temporarily remove us from the moment, which is what we sometimes do.  But we can think about where the present will take us.  I've lived in the moment for so long that I gave no thought to my future.  But I consider myself an exception and not the rule.

Spiritual people are exceptions to the rules.  I meditate on the now knowing my doing so will have an impact on the future.  But I do not yet know how, but only that it will.  My very life will impact the future of every person around me.  I don't know how it will, but only that it will have a positive impact.  I then must wait to see how I influence the future.  This is the very nature of life and living.  Every human life has an influence over every human life.  This is why we live.  

My present moment will impact future present moments.  I might not know how, but only that it will.  If my present moment is positive, the future impact will be positive.  If the present moment is not positive, the impact might not be so positive.  So the right now must be as positive as we can humanly make it be.  This then becomes a goal for every present moment we have.  That is really all there is to it.  I might just sit around smoking my pipe, but I'm always working on making the most of the present.  

This is what I do.  We make the most of the present.  It's all we have.  But the alternative is either anxiety or depression, and can be both.  So, I smoke a pipe for balance.  Just enough and not too much.  A pipe allows me to do this.  Today it is my Jirsa Czech pipe with some Original Captain Black.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave