Photo by rosario janza on Unsplash

Some spiritual teachers say all we have is the now, the present. But I disagree. I believe we have a past and the future and everyone knows this. We can easily feel and think of the past and we can dream about the future.

We must think about the duality of time and no time. One spiritual teacher argued animals know no time. If you ask the bird what time it is, the bird would say the time is now.

But the bird knows time, how does it know the seasons and when to migrate? How does the bear know the seasons, and know when to hibernate and for how long?

We need to think about the past to learn, to feel something, to have a story, to have an identity.

And we need the future and to hope and dream. We need the future for the mystery of our personal story.

And the now, the present, or no time is the present or gift. It is when we are at peace.

We need time, past present and future and we need the seasons. We need the snow, it is like when life tells us no, it rejects us and we feel cold and alone. Our emotions and life is instructing us to bundle up to stay inside, to look inside ourselves and learn something.

Our seasons and time are instructions from the universe of how we can best live our lives.

So just be, if you're thinking about the past, think about the past. That is a form of being, it just so happens you are thinking about the past, but in essence you are still just being, just living your life. But be aware this is the universe pointing you to what you should focus on. And it is hard to see because it is probably hiding in the duality of the situation you are thinking about. It is the lesson you need to learn. And that lesson is a present, or the gift.

It is like unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. You don’t know what it is, but you must do a little work to unwrap and realize what is inside. So negative past thinking is actually a wrapped gift.

And conversely if you think happy thoughts of the past that is also the present, or the gift.

And when you have desire or focus on the future, that is just being too, it just so happens you are thinking about the future, but you are still just being, and just living, it sets you on a journey. It kickstarts a season in your life. And it is the reason you will get a chance to learn more about yourself and the universe. And that excitement is a present, or a gift.

It is a gift wrapped up and only time will unwrap the future. It may give you anxiety, but there is also excitement and mystery.

It will give you a chance to more deeply develop your identity, thereby, enabling you to better relate to other people and the world around you.

So don’t beat yourself up, if you are always thinking about the past or always thinking about the future, you are actually in the now, you are truly being, you are being in your emotions, desires, and aversions.

The duality of the past and future is explained in the present. The universe is giving us gifts or presents all the time. One most precious gift or present is our memory. We get to remember the good times and learn from the bad times, and evolve and grow.

And the universe gives us gifts or presents of the future. We get to hope, we get to dream, we get to plan, and we can have excitement. All these gifts that we have all the time we experience all in the present which is the gift.

Embrace that you are human. Let go of guilt and shame. Find your way back to the essence of your five year old self. Live your emotions and don’t care about how it makes you look. Who cares what people will think. Just watch for the lesson and just be.