The Past, Present or Future – Which is Best?

Dates imprint themselves on my brain. I’ll be going through my day and suddenly I’ll remember what happened on the same date in years past.

photo © 2007 Stuart Richards | more info (via: Wylio)

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I enjoy reminiscing about things that happened with others or reflecting on the past by myself … learning, forgiving, growing and asking myself questions about why I did what I did or said what I said.

But I do not live in the past. I do not long for the ‘good old days.’ I think the ‘good old days’ also included a lot of ‘crappy old days.’ Yes, times were different back then, but I don’t think they were better. Who wants to wash clothes with a wringer washer? Who wants to talk on a phone attached to a wall? Or not hear from a loved one that is traveling for days or even weeks?

I live for today.

Many people think that if they lived in a different time (usually about fifty years earlier) life would be better. These are our ‘good old days’ and I aim to make the most of them. I don’t think people are worse today. I think people are people and no matter when you live, you have a choice to be stressed or not. To try to keep up with the ‘Jones’ or not. To visit your neighbor or not. To slow down or not.

Plus, I love all the modern inventions of our day. I don’t think social media is ruining real-life friendships. I don’t think it’s awful how much teens text. I think technology is an amazing tool that can benefit us or hurt us … it’s our choice.

I look into the future with excitement.

Being able to look into the future with excitement thrills me … because it shows how far I’ve come from a season of depression when I didn’t even want to live today, much less tomorrow.

I love living in this time and feel no need to rush time. I also don’t dread the future, I look forward to seeing what else will be invented. Knowing how much good modern medicine does now, I’m excited for what it might be able to cure in the future.

Yes, the future is unknown, so there is an element of uncertainty about it, but it doesn’t have to be negative. Many times in life, you get what you are looking for … so I assume if I think the future will be awful, it will be. But if instead I look for the positive, I will find it.

I don’t have any clear memories of when I almost died … but I do have a memory of a deep peace that I felt at some point during my trauma. That peace enveloped me and convinces me that death is not to be feared … even though my body was in excruciating pain and all my vitals were stressing, I had peace. And I trust that peace will be there in the future also.

Cheers to the past, the present and the future!

Do you appreciate this time or do you wish you lived in the past or in the future?

This is part of a blog carnival hosted by Peter Pollock. This week’s word is Future. Click over to the carnival to read more entries.

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