The past/future is a mindset, not a place.

Most of us have both filed in our mind as a place. That notion dams up the flow of life into the present. We’re too busy diverting our life force (energy) into the memories of the past or the projections of the future.

The Grasshopper this morning gave this description of the past: “Holding on to what you don’t have.”

That’s sort of like holding on to stock certificates of a company that went out of business 20 years ago. What they represent does not exist and they have no worth. Check around, there are still people who believe that “Big Bands” are coming back. They live in the past – a place that doesn’t exist.

So what keeps us stuck in a place that doesn’t exist – the past, and keeps us from moving into a place that does – the present?

Answer: Fear of the unknown – the future.

I can count on having the same memories when I stay in the past, but I can’t touch them. How frustrating, yet how widespread.

Moving to the future requires letting go of your past. It all happens through the portal of the present. The fear is letting go. It’s the same fear that keeps children stuck on one bar of the monkey bars. In order to get completely to the next bar in line, you have to let go of the one you are on now. That takes trust.

We don’t trust the future because it’s a place we don’t have experience with. This keeps us stuck in a place filled with experiences – the past. But neither is a place; they are mindsets – projections away from the only place you always are – the present.

The reason most people’s future resembles their past is because they have never let go of the past. They don’t leave home without it. They have convinced themselves that they are holding on to something tangible, when in fact it’s a handful of air – a blast of which keeps them from moving forward.

The future is scary because our past can’t live there. We are afraid of living somewhere that requires us giving up our phantom possessions.

What I’m really addressing here is change. Change is scary because it requires letting go. The letting go has to happen now or the future can never arrive. By hanging on, your future remains the outdated past. You remain the same.

If you are ignoring the present, you are living in your mind and not in the world. Living in your mind keeps you away from the only place that you can touch – this moment. The past or the future are not places, but mental diversions that keep you from living now.

The fear of the future dissipates when you practice living in the moment you are in. You gain confidence that you can respond to the challenges of the future by responding to the challenges of the moment. If you pretend the challenges are not there and go back and hide in the past, you’ll never garner the experience you’ll need to deal with the future. It will always remain fearful and you won’t change.

Managing this moment is the way to let go of the past and pave the way to the future.

What are you dodging right now? Answer that question and you’ll find what keeps you from changing.

All the best,

John