Of late, there has been an awful lot of encouragement for people to live in the moment. There seems to be a theme – this is the best way to achieve an interesting and meaningful life and also the place where personal calm is to be found. I understand the notion that the past is the past and the future has yet to arrive, but personally I get a huge amount of value exploring both.

Of late, living in the moment hasn’t been that wonderful. The “to do” list has been extensive. Getting the oven fixed, 2 months after the warranty expired; coping with a challenging mega dose of poison ivy ( itch,itch!); cleaning the garden up after a hurricane; the angst of getting contractors to turn up and do things “ right first time”; sealing a leaky roof. All this against the background of wars ; electoral campaigns full of bile and protests against the direction and funding of society.

This is life though. Amongst it all there have been kernels of joy – quality family time; creating memories with grandchildren; enjoying the natural wonders of the world – from spectacular scenery to watching insects go about their business amongst plants we have nurtured.

However, much joy has also been savored revisiting happy times past. Remembering our lives with our parents and using those happy experiences as templates to share with future generations. My wife took us on a brilliant walk down memory lane to isolated beaches where her family feasted on picnics that could only be described as simple but splendid. A visit to her old school not only evoked schoolgirl memories, rekindled old friendships but also gave a sense of hope as we witnessed smart young people preparing themselves for the world ahead. There is huge value in all our experiences, of times gone past and these should not be consigned to the dusty vaults of irrelevancy.

Hope and daydreaming! The future.
Without the hope that the future holds something better for us personally, for our children and for mankind in general, then it is hard to make the most of today. We all need to invest time contemplating the future. As individuals it is hard to imagine how we can each shape the future of the world – but we can understand it so we can chart our own course through it.
Even before we were married, my wife and I engaged in aspirational envisioning- trying to imagine what our lives together could look like. You could call it daydreaming! But we developed common ideals and with a bit of determined, practical application, a fair bit of it came to pass. Not “living in the moment” was incredibly beneficial for us. Perhaps we should do a bit more daydreaming?
Planning our lives brings a semblance of order and helps create space and opportunity to enjoy those future moments of peace and calm.

As with all things, living is about getting the appropriate balance of the past, present and future. Last weekend, we as a family lived in the moment watching our grandson play junior football. A tight game at halftime, 2-1, turned into a comfortable victory as he scored 4 goals in the second half. We enjoyed the moment, will glow with that memory and he is already engaging us with his hopes for next season. No doubt there will be times when his team will be on the wrong end of a 6-1 drubbing – but that is life too.

Happy Thanksgiving ( we are not having turkey this year!). AL(2024)