“If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
― Lao Tzu on the ultimate aim of meditation
While pondering on the ultimate aim of meditation, I came across this saying by Lao Tzu. This ancient Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism and author of the Tao te Ching was on to something.
We humans may have evolved technologically, but our fundamental traits remain the same, which is why Lao Tzu’s statement about living in the future is so viscerally relevant 2500 years after he wrote about it.
The disease: living in the future
Living in the future is a disease, make no mistake about it. You will not hear about living in the future in those exact words in medical or psychiatric journals, but all of us are afflicted by some variant of this disease.
How to identify whether you’re living in the future
Calling it a disease may come across as an exaggeration, but we do tend to live with our heads in the past or the future most of the time. Think about your answer to these questions:
- Do you tend to live in a world of thoughts most of the time?
- Are you present to what is happening now or are you living in the future?
- Are you suffering from chronic anxiety, worry, stress, or tension?
- Do you say to yourself “When I am/have/do _____, then I’ll be happy..”?
- Are you in a perpetual state of waiting for something to happen?
- Do you regularly feel bored and in need of excitement?
Your answers to these questions will tell you whether you are living in the present moment or living in the future.
“But I’m not living in the future” I can hear you say, and that is certainly technically true. Your body is certainly living in the present. But what about your mind?
Where are you when you drive a car? Have a bath? Eat your food? Take a walk, jog, or exercise? Are you truly present all the time? How about 50% of the time? 25% of the time? Most of us could consider ourselves lucky if we were present just 10% of the time we are given each day.
When you’re anxious, worried, or tense, are you living in the present or the future? What about when you’re in a hurry? If you were not living in the future, then would you be anxious? Anxiety is always about something that is going to happen. It is a feature of our brain, of our mind.
Why living in the future is so addictive
The pleasant aspect of living in the future is twofold:
- The present is boring, dull, and limited
- The future can be about as exciting as we want it to be.
The ability to “see” the future – imagination – is built into our mental structure. By itself, imagination is a fabulous ability. It is the reason for all the technological and social advances that we have seen and experienced. If it were not for imagination, we would have been at the mercy of brute biological evolution which is a sloooow process.
The world that you experience today is the result of someone’s imagination. In a way, we’re living in a world of imagination and fantasy. And that brings us to the root of the problem.
Just as you can imagine something great, you can also imagine something terrible. Even when we imagine something amazing, if we don’t make it real, it remains in the realm of dreams. And making it real means being here, now. Planning now. Working on it now.
The ultimate aim of meditation: Learning to be present – here and now
There are several techniques for dealing with this challenge, and they are all valid, but only a fundamental change in approach – living in the present – can uproot the problem once and for all. Learning to live in the present is the ultimate aim of meditation
Avoidance of the future is a separate problem altogether. I’m not advocating putting our heads in the sand. We certainly need to deal with the future, but not in the typical way that we tend to do it – thinking desperately about the future.
The antidote to living in the future, is the same as the antidote to living in the past: Be here, now. Live in the present. Be completely present to the here and now. This is easier said than done, since a lifetime of habit is going to demolish your initial efforts at being totally present.
What is the solution? There are many: meditation and self-talk are two of the major ones. An interesting approach is doing something new and risky or dangerous. We’re forced to be present when we’re doing something totally new or really dangerous. This is not an approach I recommend, for obvious reasons.
The ultimate aim of meditation is to learn to live in the present. Even hankering after spiritual enlightenment is a form of living in the future.
What are some of the ways to avoid living in the future?
- Pay attention to your breath and breathing. Being aware of your breathing whenever you are not doing anything. This is a potent mechanism to remaining present
- Pay attention to your entire body in a systematic way.
- Be aware of your surroundings and whatever is coming in through your senses.
- Once you’re adept at it, paying attention to your thoughts and emotions.
- Resist the temptation to be on autopilot
- Keep avoidance mechanisms to a minimum – Video, Television, Smartphone. If you enjoy them while being present, fine. If you can’t stop once you start, then you know that it is a form of avoidance.
Ultimately, you have a choice – you can live in the future or past, or you can consciously choose to live in the present.
