Now
Imagine all the people living for today.
I'm ready now I'm not waiting for the afterlife.
This moment is inevitable.
The past is a memory. It's a thought arising in the present. The future is merely anticipated, it is another thought arising now. What we truly have is this moment. And this. And we spend most of our lives forgetting this truth. Repudiating it. Fleeing it. Overlooking it. And the horror is that we succeed. We manage to never really connect with the present moment and find fulfillment there because we are continually hoping to become happy in the future, and the future never arrives.
All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry - all forms of fear - are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.
Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future.
When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.
Don’t search for heaven and hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Whenever we fight, hate, we are in hell.
If your mind carries a heavy burden of past, you will experience more of the same. The past perpetuates itself through lack of presence. The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future.
If I knew this world were to end tomorrow, I'd still go out and plant a tree today.
The future depends on what you do today.
There is only one time that is important — NOW! It is the most important time because it is the only time that we have any power.
So the source of creation is within you right now and that is joyfulness. If this fundamental force of creation finds expression in your life, if you allow it to move out, joyfulness is just the only way you can be.
A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.