The Presnet

One of the reasons that we try to avoid being in the present moment is because it hurts.  So we wander about in times that do not belong to us, the past and the future, or we let the imagination create a present that feels better.  We can prop up the unease of the present by giving it the support of the future that does not belong to us and is not guaranteed.  In this case, the present is never the end.  The future alone seems to be the end and so we say we live in hope, but in fact we are only hoping to live, as we avoid the actual living in the moment.  We never actually live, but hope to live.  This is why I find mediation so helpful though not so easy.  To live in the real of the present is fulfilling though at first it often seems tedious.  That is why I give myself a set amount of time to meditate and always a few more minutes than I "want" in my busy life to get on to the future!