The Lean Line of Tenses

Ever wondered what it would feel like if you could travel back to your past? Be an invisible third person and examine everything that happened in your life? Watch from afar the people you unknowingly rubbed shoulders with, become the people you dearly respect in your life later?  What about simply travelling back and re-living those moments? Savor the happy ones again and amend the sad ones? Well, the thought must have crossed your mind at least once! But what about the time you wasted thinking about it? Whatever happened, happened as it was bound to take place!

It is odd comprehending that whatever took place in the past is inevitable and fated. It’s the same with what might happen in the future. That makes us wonder what exactly we have with us right now. If a word you just read, a breath you took or the thought which you thought are things of the past and the word that you would read next, or your next breath or your upcoming thought are things of the future then there would be a momentous debate on what the present is. In fact, the transition between past and future undoubtedly is a skinny line!

If someone is able to make that scraggy line a little podgier, that’s probably when they have learnt the art of the much coveted and dramatic expression of “Living in the present”. But is it as straightforward as it sounds? For us to live in the present, we should have no contemplations whatsoever of the impending. Would that mean you wouldn’t have to worry about saving a penny for the rainy day?

Any living theory that exists in this world certainly has two faces (much like the people we encounter every day!). One theory which tells you to quit looking for something when you want to find it and the other which tells you to go out and look for it. Now, consider the second to be true. What about the theory of destiny then? Is it just a word people use to blame their failures? (Courtesy: A coffee mug which had this printed on it). Some believe that when a baby is born, his/her entire fate is already written by the great hand of God and that things that happen to you aren’t controlled by you but the omnipotent. Does that mean they grow up to be quitters, fall into the category of lazy people and never make an effort to move out of their comfort zone because they worship the ideology of destiny? I believe to an extent that it is factual. However, someone being blindly precast in the philosophy would do nothing but cause themselves damage. When you eliminate the option of staying put, accusing destiny, you are left with another option. Learning from experience! It is by far, the cleverest alternative. Experience sure can be a wonderful teacher. You went through whatever happened in the past. Alas! There is no way to demolish it! Embrace it, smile, move on, yet learn from it and attempt to plant what you acquired in what you do right now, so that you know what to vaguely look forward to. Although, it is definite that none of us would be able to deduce what precisely will happen, having a blurry image is by far better than having none. At least you can script your own Experience Reference Guide! And who knows! One day you might even get to publish one!

So we still stick on with living in the moment. We don't have to be apprehensive about the future, yet be prepared for the worse that might happen, with the help of our reference manual. Putting 100% to what you are doing at this very moment would also mean you are listening. Very clearly! And that is a quite a wonderful thing!

I now understand why there a lot of confused souls out there. Well, I absolutely am still one of them! Let me know what you think.