in the here and now

Linking up with other writers today over at Kate Motaung's place for Five Minute Friday. Some weeks the words come easily and some weeks they don't. Five Minute Friday is all about writing for five minutes, not worrying about fancy edits. Just writing for the fun of it. Come on over and see what everyone else wrote on the prompt, "here". 

What if we all could live in the here and now.

I mean, now is all we have.

If we live in the past, either pining for a great past, or living in regret, it’s a waste of time and steals from the joy in the present moment.

If we live in the future (I’ve tried this), it’s called anxiety…being fearful over things that haven’t even happened yet. And, likely won’t happen the way my over active imagination has imagined it.

Here and now.

Focusing on the present moment is all we have.

Living in the here and now is something that I’m striving to do each day. I wish I could tell you that I’m a pro at it.

I can tell you that I’m a pro at trying.

I tend to live in the future, worrying over things I have no control over.

What if?

Such a bad choice of words if the negative is behind them, but what a good choice of words, if the positive is behind them.

What if I excel at ________________?

What if this relationship improves?

What if I get that project completed in record time?

Instead, I’m afraid to say that the end of “what if” leaves more questions than answers and leaves me living not in the here and now, but in the what if and when.

How about you? What kinds of things do you do to live in the here and now?

Painting and being creative helps me, as do fountains and reading my Bible. (an interesting grouping of odd things written rather quickly!)

Here’s to living not in the past or future, but in the here and now.

Blessings to you, friends!

~Anne