Beth's Ponderings
Ever wish you could
travel backward or forward in time? If
you could, why would you go, to what specific time period, and what would you
do when you got there?
While I haven’t
heard of anyone physically travelling backwards or forwards through time, I can
assure that we have ALL time travelled at one time or another mentally, and in
our night-time dreams.
Now, there is a
value to travelling back to the past. It
allows us to see events from a different perspective - for example, that
embarrassing incident that yes, you can laugh about now, but couldn’t at the
time. Or, it allows us to (hopefully) learn
from our mistakes so that we can make better choices today. Plus, it allows those we love, who are no
longer part of our lives, to live on in our memories.
In the same way,
travelling to the future has value as it allows us, via our imaginations, to
try on, or experience, the various options available to us, and helps to give
us clarity when we have a tough decision to make. It provides us with insight so we can be
better prepared for future events. It
also brings the feelings of excitement and anticipation when we are looking
forward to a milestone or significant event.
Yet, there is a
darker side to all that time travelling.
For too many of us, time is spend ruminating about past events with
feelings of regret, or hours upon hours spent wishing things were back ‘the way
they used to be.” Or, on the other hand,
we spend far too much time worrying and dreading possible future catastrophes,
and become paralyzed by all the choices ahead of us.
By spending most of
our mental energy in the past or the future, we fail to really live in the
present - where we always are physically - and address what is happening in and
around us, which, incidentally, tends to lead to regrets because we didn’t have
time to do something important to us, or leads to a self-fulfilling prophesy of
doom and gloom because we don’t take the necessary actions or prepare properly.
Where are you right
now? In the past, in the future, or in
the present?
Beth
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