Futurama...

“The future is much like the present, only longer”-Dan Quisenberry.

Not one person on this planet can say that they don't struggle with the future.  Day in and day out we worry and wonder what’s in store for us and how events will unfold.  We constantly attempt to see seconds, minutes, hours and even years into our own futures.  We convince ourselves that the only comfort in life is to know what lies ahead.

However, what we sometimes fail to recognize is that the future is just the present with some slight modifications.

There was a time in my life when all I thought about was getting the heck out of where I was.   I convinced myself that there was nothing fantastic about the now and that the future was going to be so much more spectacular.  I waited and waited for the time to come when I could, metaphorically speaking, say ‘hasta la vista’ and ride off into the sunset towards new horizons

Man those horizons were spectacular!  The future was all I wanted it to be…for about three short weeks.  Then it hit me, I was still in the present!  'How on God's green earth did I end up here?'  Like many young people, I was under some naive assumption that changing where you lived automatically changed everything you didn’t like about yourself and your life. 

Sometimes, to get through places or situations that we don’t want to be in, instead of living in the present we set up a make believe world in our heads that someday we hope to get to.  This world is always very dewy and mystical, some might even say enchanting.  The sun is always shining and we are always happy.  In my imaginary future, I am standing on the porch of my gorgeous house on a lake, watching my husband and kids play.  That scene was what I always wanted to get to.  Where I would be happy.

Maybe you have a scene like mine or perhaps you have created a story about a new job changing your life, or a new house or a new car.   You think that just maybe all of this will make life perfect.  If only we could get there sooner!

As an eternal optimist and self-proclaimed dreamer, I would never give up on my story, nor would I encourage any of you to give up on yours.   But I had to realize that just because I wasn’t living my dream didn’t mean that I couldn’t be happy where I was, in the present.

As we’re spending all this time creating our future, life is happening.  We are doing the same mundane, everyday things, like going to work, the gym and the grocery store.  Those same mundane everyday things happen in the present, in the future, halfway around the world and right on your front porch.  Every day isn’t sunny, everyone isn’t always happy and you will always view life through the very same eyes that you view them now.  You’re future inevitably becomes the present.  The more you learn to love each day for its certain je ne sais quoi, the brighter and happier your future is sure to be.

The other day I found the following quote by Steve Rivkin, “The more unpredictable the world becomes, the more we rely on predictions.”  When I read that, a montage of all the times I turned to horoscopes and the occasional psychic flashed before me.  I was looking for something that could assure me my future would be alright.  But the comfort only lasted so long.  It was just a temporary band aid.

Real peace of mind came when I decided to stop worrying about my future.  It took a while, and a lot of practice to get out of my own way but I learned to enjoy more of the little things life had to offer.  If you list all of the things in your life that you love in life and are thankful for, I’d imagine things will get a lot better fast.

My new goal in life became being able to honestly say yes whenever anyone asked, “Are you happy?”  I achieved my goal.  I have found that this is a rare and special thing.  It was SO worth the effort!

Until next time…