A Balanced Mind is Always in The Present
Mind is one of the most evolved, important & useful organs of the human body. It is not only the initiation point of every thought & activity that we do but is also the centre of our well-being, growth & happiness. Any discrepancy or imbalance in its functioning causes great disruptions and chaos in our lives. It is the fulcrum of our mental health which in turn is the backbone of our physical well-being.
If our mind goes out of balance, the first thing that happens to us is that we start tending to slip back or forth into past or future respectively. And this little disruption is enough to cause great discomfort, stress & trauma as a little imbalance then leads to a domino effect. Mental imbalance may also lead to physical ailments as negative thoughts & depression (in the extreme cases) may lead one to physical inaction, addictions or/and deadly lifestyle diseases. So, we need to keep our minds well-balanced so as to stay in the present and at our best mentally and physically. And to do so, we need to understand the functioning of our mind really well.
Causes of Escaping The Present : An Unfavorable Present!
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| An Unfavorable Present! |
The natural question that arises here is that why does the human mind tend to slip back or forth? Why does it develop an inclination towards the past or the future? The answer is simple. This happens because for some reason we don’t like being in the present. There may be infinite reasons for this. Negative emotions like sadness, fear, anger, jealousy, etc. may make us feel that we are not in a good place which may ignite the search for a better place in our minds at least. And the only other places where we can be mentally are past or future.
But actually past and future are traps. They lure people because they are not on good terms with the present. But once people enter past or future, they get trapped into them irrespective of whether they feel good or bad over there. The assumption that present is inferior to past and future makes this possible. So, what we need to do to come out of this trap is to either make our future truly great by working hard in various spheres of our life like financial, emotional, personal, etc. or at least know with certainty that present is always better than past or future.
It is like you won’t leave your parents for some other couple even if you feel that they are better than your parents. Your parents are the only option you have. Similarly, we should always remember that present is the only choice we have if we want to live a good life. So, whatever the reason may be because of which you may be feeling the present to be a worse option, you have to remind yourself that it is the best possible choice you have right now. Keep repeating this thumb rule till it gets absorbed into your sub-conscious. Also, we need to work on ourself so as to reduce and finally extinguish the negative emotions from our mind, body and our lives. This will help us want to be in the present more organically.
Causes of Escaping The Present : A Better Past or Future!
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| A Better Past Or Future! |
Another reason why we willingly enter past or future is the flip side or the next step to the reason given in the last paragraph. We go into past or future because we think that past and future are better places than the present. But in this case, you are not sad in the present. You are quite happy and more than satisfied in your life but the greed, carelessness or complacency that creeps into us when we are happy makes you wanna go into the past or the future. You want more happiness & joy than what you have in the present. So, you either go into the past for good memories or in the future where you see your bigger dreams getting fulfilled. But the problem is that when we don’t live in the present, things can go out of control very quickly and when they do, you find yourself trapped in the past or the future. You lose the ability to resurrect the present.
It’s like gambling at a casino. When you are winning, you get complacent or greedy and want to play more with more money. And finally, you have to pay the price not only with the money you had won initially but also with some extra loss from your pocket. So, whether you are happy or sad in the present, always remember that the present is the most important place for you to be. Never get complacent even for a second. Never accept entering the past or the future for any good or bad reasons!
Causes of Escaping The Present : Memories!
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| Memories! |
Another very big reason why we get dragged out of the present is a reason that features in both the reasons given above. MEMORIES! We all have good and bad memories of the past and even the memories (dreams) we want to create (fulfill) in the future. Till the time we remain emotionally stuck with these memories, we cannot be in the present fully and consistently.
Let Go Of Bad Memories
Some people have bad memories which they can’t let go because they feel guilty about doing so. They don’t want to let go of a problem which troubled them for a considerable part of their lives. They make these bad memories an inseparable part of themselves. This is the worst mistake one can do. They do this mainly because other people don’t understand their problem which they badly want them to. So, whenever something wrong happens in their life, they remember that bad memory and keep it as an excuse. We need to understand here that whatever happened was bad enough and we don’t have to carry it with us all our lives as it won’t let us grow.
People think that if someone understands their past, they will become able to let it go. This is a myth. First of all no one can truly understand what you went through because only you were the person who experienced it. And even if someone understands it, it will get concretized in your mind as you will feel vindicated. So, we just need to let go our bad past only because we want to move forward with our life. We want new experiences to happen to us. We want happiness and not sympathy. We need to become free of EVERY bad memory!
Let Go Of Good Memories
Some people also have good memories which they want to continue basking in for the rest of their lives. Either these memories happened in the past or they are the dreams of the future which they fantasize about. These memories & dreams may feel very sweet and entertaining but they still ruin your precious present. Till the time you choose to remain in these ‘good’ memories, nothing more significant will happen in the present. So, you need to let them go.
Also, you cannot choose to keep only the good memories in your mind. You can only choose to keep memories, they may be good or bad. And when you choose to keep the good ones, the bad ones stick with you by default. You see, you cannot keep a good memory from a given year but choose to forget a bad one from the same year! So, we need to let go all our memories which will make it absolutely easy for us to be in present naturally. When we are not hanging on to any past or future memories, we have no place to be but the present!
Conclusion
We can be in the present completely only when we really want to be there. We will really want to be in the present only when we are capable of being happy in it. And we can be truly happy in the present only when there is no other place that is capable of giving us more happiness. So, make your present so beautiful that you just cannot afford to be anywhere else!
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| Be Present Be Happy! |