The Power Of The Not Now

In this bright future, you can’t forget your past.

Bob Marley

We talk a lot about the present moment. Especially in the worlds of yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Which means the past and the future can get a bit of a bad rap.

There’s good reason to revere the present. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, ‘Life is available only in the present moment.’ And by being present we are, among other things, likely to feel calmer and more grateful.

Often, we’ll relate to the past by ruminating over our regrets, or be full of longing for what no longer is. We’ll relate to the future by fantasizing about what we wish we had, and yearning to press the fast forward button to get there as swiftly as possible. Both of which can create an uneasy relationship to the present.

But we can forge a connection to our known past and our imagined future in ways that actually enhance our experience of the here and now.

Can we think of the past as offering a foundation stone of support when we feel ourselves faltering? It can remind us, when we’re challenged, that yes, you can do this. You’ve done it before and there’s no reason you can’t do it again. I actually keep a file of ‘love-notes’ from people containing nice words about my teaching and my writing, and when I feel my confidence waver, I’ll pull it out and read through them. They help me remind myself that yes, you can, when the voice of no, you can’t threatens to topple me over.

If the past is like the ground beneath us, our imagined future is like the bright sky above us. The future offers us the powerful balm of hope, and is where we can place a clear vision of what we desire. But rather than just allow that vision to drift around the ether, we can use it actively, to create the paths that will help bring that vision into being. By doing so, and by finding joy as we walk those paths (as opposed to seeing them as just a means to an end), we can also amplify our experience of the present.

So we return to the moment, placing ourselves there with a beautiful attentiveness, while feeling held by the ground of the past and inspired by the sky of the future. As we draw those energies into the body of the now, they can truly nourish it.