Maintenant

the thought of eternity & heaven is many times too big for me, too abstract. my puny brain will only conjure up images relative to my cultural influences & upbringing. there is value to be had for our aspirations, dreams, & heaven. but as a society we allow it to detract from inherent value of the present moment.

for many of us our present day comes with many tangible burdens. too many nagging bits to ignore it seems. outside of major turmoils, the past is more golden due to the fog of memory, which explains our ever rosier accounts as we move further away from the actual period in question. as for the unwritten future, it is usually conveniently sparse of negative projections. i'm hopeful that is self explanatory.

and so the present is typically saddled with more distractions, making it harder for us to appreciate the many blessings we are constantly surrounded with. it takes a big event for us to shift perspective and be thankful for the moment.

or it can take an active decision from us to unclutter our thoughts throughout the day. a simple moment to refocus on God and the many gifts surrounding us. the gifts in that moment and the ones that brought us to it. sometimes we pine for the future so much we lose sight that God has already blessed us in the moment.

religions can muddle the message up for us on these matters. the idea of the forthcoming heaven & hell is sometimes more of a tool for the masses as a means of operant conditioning. my issue is not with the concept of heaven or hell, but the primacy of it to push our lives through to get to those points, beyond this one.

God built this moment just as he built the past & the future, but unlike God we are bound by the laws of nature and tethered to the present. the idea of the future can influence the present, and if our actions are taken to primarily reach the end point than we cheat the present of its full meaning, and we miss God in this moment.