Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Grattitude for the Present...

October 2 , 2010 (I don't know how this got reposted for the date of 7 months later...)

I am choosing to learn to live with greater gratitude... for and in the HERE AND NOW. I have been guilty of missing certain things from my past way too much, and of living in the past or the future, more than in the here and now. I have been incredibly blessed lately to learn the importance of living in the here and now; Heavenly Father directed me to several sources and experiences to help me with this.

The last source of this new education has been from the article The Best is Yet to Be. It is about Lot's wife (in the Bible) and her sin of longing for the past, and having more appreciation for the past than she had faith in the future.

I love this article! In the past I simply thought of her sin as being longing for riches and wanting to be in that wicked city she was told to flee from, and of course, disobeying the Lord by looking back. I never thought of her looking back longingly at the past, or of looking back longingly as a bad thing... until now. While it is good to appreciate the past, it is not good to miss it too much... It is better to have such faith in the future that we appreciate the past as beautiful stepping stones towards the future - which may now be the present - not as the beautiful stones that we had to resentfully leave behind (see the difference in perspective?).

My new goal is to not have anything in common with Lot's wife! I don't want to long for the past or the future. I want to appreciate the past, prepare with faith and joy for the future, and totally and completely enjoy living in the here and now.

I know that as a result of accomplishing this mental change, many blessings will come into my life. Another blessing of being in the here and now - mentally - is being able to see (and more fully enjoy...) so many more blessings that are already in my life (not just the ones I'm working for). I can enjoy the process of becoming... not just the end results (is there ever really an end result?).

Life is mostly spent in processes, so living in the now..., enjoying the process, is a really important key to living a happy life.

Here is a quote I love about the present that I would like to share.

The future is a mystery,
The past is history,
But today is a gift;
why we call it the present.

Life is so... good.
And as president Hinckley put it,

"Your future is as bright as your faith." ;D

Happy Living!
Corine ;D

May 10, 2011
I think I am accomplishing this goal... very well. :D
It is  so cool to find this writing, and notice the progress made. :)

4 comments:

  1. i love this concept... i try always to live in the present...this moment... it is futile to long for the past or the future... things that have been or may never be...we miss so many beautiful and wonderful things always looking forwards or backwards....

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  2. And we can't change the past or see the future, might as well be present :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  3. Good for you, my friend. This is something I'm not terribly good at ... oh dear, another thing to add to the list!

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  4. Hi Sherri, :)
    I love how you are so good at this! And I have You to thank for my progress! Thanks so much for getting me going on this with that circle journal assignment of Now! :D

    Hi Jules! :D
    Amen! ;)

    Hi Laura, :)
    I think we all have our own personal list which is fifty miles long! The important thing is that we patiently try to tackle only a few at a time... and remember that though we can be more, we are still enough! ;) (I totally know that you know this! :D)

    Corine :D

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There is a ripple effect in all that we do; what you do touches me, what I do touches you...

THANK YOU for your comments; you add so much insight and brighten my day! :)