The Power of Now

As I lay sleepless in my bed thinking of too many things related to the past, the present and the future, I notice that everything I think of is connected to something else. This also means that nothing stands in isolation. Multiple things are related to each other at one time. The past finds its links in the present and the future; similarly, the present and the future find their links in the other two. This makes me wonder about the relationship these terms share with each other…

Past…Present…Future…

One could say they have one common factor called ‘time’. The time that is over and will never come back, the time that is now and ticking quickly to become the time that will then never come back and the time that is yet to be born. Is it then right to say that these three terms are three generations of being? Past being the oldest, Present being its offspring and Future- the youngest- which is still to be born off Present. But logically, Present always exists even in Past and Future. It never dies but just transforms. What is then the role of Past and Future?

Past is an elderly and highly learned teacher who has years of experience and wisdom to teach to Present. But the wisdom is nothing but Present’s course of action over time. It is Present’s doings that have made Past so wise and sane.

Another thing about Past is that it is very humble and at the same time very scary and selfish. It wants to pass on all of its wisdom to Present, so that it knows what to do in Present that will exist in Future. But at the same time Past loves to play tricks on Present. It is dominating, it wants to take up the entire stage and not let Present in Present perform. Along with the wisdom it passes on all the negativity, pain, sorrow, regret and fear too; making it difficult for Present to be in its best state.

But Present is no less smart, it contemplates, takes only what is necessary, leaves behind the rest of the baggage and also pays gratitude to Past. This act of Present boosts Past’s ego which soon reaches the skies and just when Present is happy and doing so well on its own with its newly acquired wisdom, Past dumps itself on Present. The war starts. Both want to establish their power over the other. But Present is losing its ground. Past is so powerful and intimidating that Present has almost no chance of winning. Its existence is almost lost, it is very close to accepting defeat.

Just then Present hears a soft voice calling its name from somewhere far off. It looks at Past. Strange, it seems like Past can’t hear what it can hear so clearly. It listens intently. The voice says, “You have to fight for me! You can’t let Past defeat you.” Startled,Present asks, “Who are you?” The voice answers, “FUTURE!” All of a sudden, Present is filled with tremendous energy from an unknown source. It now has a strong reason for which to fight. With a streak of immense power it pushes Past away, making it fall down with a thud. The war is over.

Suddenly,Present is happy again. It doesn’t look at Past as its enemy anymore because, now it knows how far it should let Past enter. Looking at the state of matters,Future is now ready to take advantage of the apt situation and is hovering over Present in the same way as Past initially was. Present was so far unaware that Future could be equally powerful and destructive. It has lured Present into its trap with its soft voice.

A war begins again. The same story repeats itself. Present feels trapped and is wondering how to deal with the ever increasing pressure Future is putting on it.Finally it uses every last bit of its might, taps into the power of optimism and succeeds in pushing Future away, attaining peace once again. Now Present is back in its present state, right where it belongs. It has fought two crucial battles and knows it will have to fight many more of these. There is no escape for sure, but with every battle fought and won, Present feels more and more powerful seeing how far it has come along. This prepares it to be better in the present in the future than the present in the present.

It has finally realized that all of them- Past, Present itself and Future- are interdependent. But that the only thing that has real power is itself; that without its permission neither Past nor Future can achieve supremacy. It can learn a lot from Past but should not try to relive it. It can plan for Future but doesn’t know if it exists. The ultimate truth that has or ever will exist is Present itself, and the rest is all either history or a mystery!