The Power of Now

In our languages we have three major tenses: past, present and the future. We have no control of the past. It is gone forever. We can influence our future by planning proactively and wisely during the present moment. But anyone's future is uncertain and mostly unpredictable. The only tense of which we have any control, is the present. We have almost full control of what is happening at the present moment. We can use it or waste it, we can make it fruitful or wasteful. The present moment is a gift given to us, either to use it or to waste it using our free will. It is a present!

People who dwell in the past and regret it are the people who are depressed. They want to change their past and knowing that it is not possible they blame themselves for their past misdeeds and get depressed. The people who are trying to live in the future get anxious and panicky. We cannot control our future as we do not know what is in store for us. Our future is a mystery.

If we look at the lives of successful present day inventors and entrepreneurs in the USA such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Warren Buffet we can see that they all had a vision of serving the people in the future. But they did not wait till the future came saying "One of these days or some day in the future, I will invent an operating system for personal computers - I will name it Microsoft Windows." Bill Gates used the present moment to create his dream. If not Microsoft Windows would never have seen the light of day.

So are the Apple computers; IPods, IPads and IPhones. If Steve Jobs had kept these modern inventions in his mind without doing something in the present, his dreams would not have materialized. We should have our dreams but we have to do something in the present to make them a reality in the future. So is the American billionaire Warren Buffet. If he did not invest his hard-earned money wisely at present, he would not have achieved his current multi-billionaire status.

There is a poem that I have memorized. I would love to know who the author is. It summarizes what we discussed above.

It is pointless regretting about the past. We cannot change even an iota of what has happened in the past. It is useless dreaming about the future. We have hardly any control of the future, unless we try to do something at the present. The only moment of which we have any control and about which we can do something is NOW to utilize it to the best of our ability for a better future. Let us understand the value and the power of the PRESENT moment and use it profitably.

If you went through some of the articles in this website and reflected on them you will know how to preserve your health and to live a longer life. If you decide to apply these principles in the future, e.g. after you retire or after you buy a property and build a house, or after your children are settled in marriage, it may be too late for you. Apply these principles in your life NOW and at present or today. Tomorrow is too late.

(If you have any physical or psychological problems, or are on any medications or under the care and the supervision of any physician, psychiatrist or a therapist, please consult your physician, psychiatrist or a therapist, before you change your lifestyle)