Someone once said to me, “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” I chuckled in agreement. Later I remembered that during one of those seasons when I did take better care of myself and even trained for a marathon, the week before the race I got a stress fracture in my foot and my wife had emergency surgery. I did not get to run that marathon.
Much of my life has been spent overlooking the right now. For too many years I kept my focus upon an imagined future. I say “imagined future” because the future does not exist outside of the imagination. Absolutely nothing I do today guarantees that tomorrow will come or turn out a certain way. The future is not a thing that stands in line waiting for its turn like when we wait for our number to be drawn at the driver’s license renewal station. It is entirely a figment of our imagination—a phantom. There is only now—this fleeting moment, a beat of the heart and a drawn breath. Where I am, who I’m with and what I’m doing right now is all that is certain, though fleeting.
While there may be some steps I can take today that may bring positive results tomorrow, there are no certainties. I could, for example, eat better and exercise today in the hope of being healthier tomorrow; but that doesn’t guarantee that I won’t slip in the shower and break my neck today. That’s why right now is so all important.
Persons afflicted with Alzheimer’s sometimes revert to reliving the past while being disconnected from the present. It is painful to watch and sorrowful to loved ones who are no longer recognized. However, because they understand that the person is ill and can’t help it, family and friends valiantly and loyally continue to love and care.
One who lives in the future and, in effect, is disconnected from the present is also difficult to deal with. Lacking the excuse of a medical condition, this person has chosen to devalue the immediate affections and presence of loved ones and friends by living in his or her future fantasy. The smiles, nods, tears, gestures, sounds and experiences of today's moments are overlooked in the rush to the future. Both the Alzheimer’s patient and the future chaser are denied the full benefit of right now; as are those forced to deal with him or her. Patience and sympathy from loved ones can wear thin.
This is why Jesus cautioned us to “take no thought for tomorrow... because tomorrow will take care of itself” (Matthew 6:25-34). Instead, he said we should focus upon living in God’s domain right now. God’s domain is loving relationships. Folks who don’t take this to heart wake up one day to discover their kids have grown up, graduated and moved away and now they’re left wondering where all those years went. What happened to those times that should have been given to laughter, hugs and memory making? They were lost to the priority of chasing the mirage of the future.
Will you join me in pulling out of someday and zeroing in on right now? We can do it if we’ll focus upon loving those around us, cherish the sound of their voice, listen to their thoughts and feelings and savor this present moment before it evaporates into yesterday.
