Projections of the Past and the Future

Can feelings be duplicated?

Can a moment “lived” in the past be recreated?

“Past” is a social construct – and so is the Future. The Present, most of the times, is seen in relation with the Past or the Future.

A fond memory is only “felt” in retrospection while being situated in the Present. This feeling of fondness, stability, innocence and carefreeness  - comes only in comparison with the Present feeling of conflict, pressure, anxiety, hurriedness, dilemma of the Present. Hence Past is felt as a comparison of the Present and the imaginary Future. If one was to turn the clock back and go to the Past, the Past will become Present and will be accompanied with its own set of feelings related to that age/ time. Being young, most people, can’t decode feelings or the impressions that happen on their minds. In short, Past is as much imaginary as is the Future!

Similarly, Future is yet to arrive. Probability of possible outcomes or scenarios of the Future generates a feeling of uneasiness, anxiety in the Present. If we act according to those feelings, anticipating a possible Future according to what we wish, the Future on arrival (that is when it actually is felt as being Present) may be perceived completely different, since the circumstances and ‘we’ as phenomenon have changed beyond our assumptions set in the distant Present (now the Past).

In any moment therefore, the effort to recreate a Past or to aim for a stable Future seems futile….a figment of our imagination, and we keep running to achieve a stable or a permanent or a peaceful moment!

Notice that above seems to be a trick of the mind – inherently unstable. If this is to be accepted as the default nature of the mind, then we may be in a better position to find the answer of experiencing a peaceful state of mind. This leads to the idea of full acceptance of the Present and full involvement of any kind of thought that passes the mind. Note that the thought is going to come and go – so let it come and let it go. By coming and filling the internal space, a thought generates a series of other effects that compels you to take action, which in turn generate other thoughts and the cycle continues.

By coming and going, we imply action, but not entertainment or clinging to it. We also imply unburdening of the Past or Future projections.

If done with this awareness, perhaps our lived experience will give us more joy.