living in the present

I wonder why being or remaining in the present is so important to our lives. Secular counseling recommends it, for the most part, as do a lot of major spiritual traditions either explicitly or implicitly. Some of the more effective ways of dealing with stress includes pausing and taking deep breaths, and being aware of our bodies or the world around us. It sounds like bad New Age advice but I wouldn't let New Ageism claim this very useful practice for itself!! But I must say that because of the Enlightenment, the Christian tradition hasn't really explored or developed good understandings about the body. Within Christianity, ideas about temporality seem to me to be more implicit than explicit although if I can speak off the cuff without censure, I'd say that past, present and future are equally important. It may be true of other traditions as well but well, I'm more interested in thinking as a Christian. :)

Remembering the past is important because those reflections can teach us about how much God has worked. I am particularly thankful for how I've been changed in the past decade or so. And it gives me hope for the future because I know that the God who has been with me in the past will continue to work in my life (Phil 1:6). Thinking about the future is important because it helps to know that "this" is not "it."

But how do I live with the "it," i.e. the present? How do I live with the present and all its disappointments and imperfections?

It's ironic that even though I can now look back on all those difficult "present times" that are now past and call them good, and even if I know that in the future when I look back on this very moment that is the now, I will call it good . . . it's so difficult to "be happy" about this moment. This isn't to say that I'm unhappy about being here. At least I don't think so. I recognize the blessings in the now of my life--even if holding on to that recognition is like slogging through a waist-high bog.

Oh heck, I might as well come out and say it. I'm not very happy about being single at this point. There. It's out in the open. Okay. It's probably unwise to say anymore than this on a blog.