An addition to the trapeze thought

Excellent point, PTC, and it makes a good Bumper Sticker, something like: You can have an eye on the future and a thought about the past while still being wholly in the moment.

There's something worth pondering :) Actually, that really is worth pondering! Like, how can that be true? How can we stay totally present and in the moment AND also think about/plan for/have feelings about (like be excited about something in the future) what hasn't happened yet? And how can we be totally in the moment AND have thoughts/feelings about the past? Funky...yet completely doable.

Comments

[leanonme]

PERPLEXING.....

too many thoughts swinging around on unstable ground. Swinging makes me sick to my stomach. How can you be swinging (moving) and present( still ) all at the same time? I dont get it????? Sorry maybe im just lame or missing something.

[Laura]

This morning, I was driving on the highway [on my way to eat lunch :) ] and I thought of you all and this post. I have a lot going on this weekend and a lot I want to get done by the end of the day on Monday. I am in the second round of a job application for which I need to write 4 essays and fill out another 8 page application. Moreover, my good good friend is coming to visit me from this afternoon through Tuesday. And, oh yeah, I have to move in a couple of weeks and make arrangements for that to happen. And, oh right, please don't let me de-prioritize my eating just because I start focusing on things (like, life) which I deem more important in the moment. Anyway, so I was worrying a/b how to get this all done. How will I spend enough time on the essays and be a good friend/hostess? (PS: I couldn't have prepared any of this stuff in advance. I found out my friend was coming two days ago and I found out about the job app stuff yesterday). How will I please everyone including myself? All these thoughts that tend to stress me out. So, I was driving down the high way, and I noticed my body was tense and my thoughts were racing. And that's when I thought about this post. I realized that I was thinking about the future. But the way in which I was thinking about the future was making my present unenjoyable. Not just that - but making my present unenjoyable (tense body, racing stressful thoughts) isn't even effective - sitting in a car tensed up doesn't write my essays or make me a good friend. Having catastrophic worry-filled thoughts doesn't make my essays write themselves or make me a good host. And so, I got realistic with myself: 1) I cannot expect perfection from myself in terms of my essays or in terms of me being a host. 2) This job app is important to me and so it is important that I do set aside some time to write it. 3) I need to communicate to my friend that I have to block off a few hours for me to dedicate to doing that. 4) That might make me feel guilty, but it is what I have to do and I think I'm making the right choice. 5) I will think a/b the job app stuff during those few hours this afternoon and a couple of hours tomorrow morning. 6) Right now, I will realize I am in the car and I will just be in the car. Racing thoughts don't make me more productive. A tense body doesn't make me more productive. In fact, all I can do right now is decide that i will set aside some time to work on my work later. I will accept the fact that I might feel a bit guilty for not fully engaging with my friend during those few hours, but I will remember that this is what I have to do and I will be spending lots of other hours with her. And, for now, I will calm my body down, I will listen to the music on my radio, and I will be in the car.

And, when I did that, I thought, "MAAAAYBE (???) this is an example of being in the present with an eye on the future?" I'm not sure if it is or not. But Maybe it's something close?