World’s Big Enough for One Day

As we pack into our momentary experience unabridged smatterings of the past and imaginings of our potential futures we think our minds and hearts are capable of such range in height, depth, even uncertainty.

Past, present, and future are a mammoth load. The present is enough for us to think about. Sometimes the present doesn’t seem enough, though.

We grossly overestimate our conscious capacities. Yet, we’ll unconsciously fall into this trap numerous times daily—which is frustrating. We continue to remind ourselves, and continue to need to, but we won’t ever solve this.

The world as it is, in our experience, is big enough for one day.

The Complications Of Past And Future

Life is a complicated affair. But it is ever more complicated by our virulent desire, at times, to venture back into the past or explore the future in our thoughts. Sometimes it’s necessary.

But we incinerate many a moment’s peace by indiscreet departures from the present.

It’s certainly our habit to give up the present for thought of something more. But that ‘something more’ is a mirage. Sure, we’re free to think what we want, but to give up the present—which is something of a possession—for thoughts of the past or imaginings of the future is usually unwise. It’s the surrendering of the wrong sort of control. The best personal control is retaining conscious thought for the present.

The more we can learn, and quicker we can respond, to vacancies of awareness when we float off into the past or future in our thoughts, the better.

Training The Awareness

Whenever life is getting big on us we might reflect on whether thought for the past or future is impinging on the present.

Training our awareness to be more present-focused reconciles us to peace.

In this we need to necessarily shelve our materialistic focus and elevate our spiritual focus. Enjoying the present for what it is, not wanting any more or any less, is a sense of spiritual wellbeing difficult to beat.

Training our awareness to be attuned to the size of the world bigger than one day’s worth, so we can pick up departures of thought, is worth our while. When we do this we find we can cope with life, however hard it is, and, besides the worst of losses, no matter what life throws at us.

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Our world is big enough for one day. When we pile on stressful thoughts of the past or anxious imaginings for the future, both involving things we cannot control, we give up the present, and we give up our peace. Our world is big enough for one day.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.