Take Care Of Your Future

At the encouragement of a friend, I picked You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh up again to read a second time. I enjoyed it the first time I read it, and as many books do, this second time through, it hits a little different than the first. My first pass through was early in my exploration of spirituality, mindfulness, meditation, and being more present, and I’m still on my journey (it never ends), but Hanh’s words seemed to make more sense this time.

Being present is becoming increasingly difficult to do in a world full of distractions, pressure to be growing, improving, and grinding, and non-stop accessibility to others, which makes finding time and the ability to be present that much more important. 

Instead of living in the present moment, most of us are either living in the past of the future–completely missing the present, which falls in the middle and is the only real time that exists…the past has already happened, the future has yet to happen, and the present is currently happening, but we’re missing it.

Thich Nhat Hanh has some wise advice on how we can use the past and the future to help us live in the present, or a better way to look at it is to access the past and the future by being in the present moment.

THE PAST

“With the help of deep looking, we can illuminate the present and gain a better understanding of the past. The past is within our reach, and we can transform it through meditation.”

THE FUTURE

“It is also possible for us to touch the future in the present moment. The future is being made out of the present, so the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment.”

“We can only take care of the future by taking care of the present moment, because the future is made out of only one substance: the present. Only if you are anchored in the present can you prepare well for the future.”

I find my Self thinking more about the future–I don’t spend much time living in the past, so Hanh’s words about the future really jumped out to me. I didn’t highlight these passages when I first read the book; this time, they JUMPED off the page for me.

If I had to guess, you probably spend more time thinking about your future and while I believe it’s important to know where you’re going, have a plan, and work towards making your future your reality, remember the best thing you can do for that future is to take care of the present moment.

Stack your present moments, and you’ll find your Self in the future you seek.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC