“Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good does it do to brood on the past or anticipate the future? Remain in the simplicity of the present moment”.
-Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Our minds can be such wonderful things. Over the years I have enjoyed the development of my intellect and imagination. I love it that I can sit down each day and spontaneously write these daily thoughts. All of them are written in approximately five minutes with no prior thought. Other times, however, my mind can torment me and keep me awake at night. I don’t tend to be a worrier but sometimes I am guilty of imaginary conversations that I should have had or I want to have. Sometimes I torment myself with how I wish I had said something differently. Words out of your mouth are like water over the damn. I sometimes enjoy thinking about past experiences that were a lot of fun or meaningful but I generally have few regrets. I also look forward to the future but I don’t worry about it. I am going to retire from working for a living in one year. Do I have enough money? Time will tell. What I know is that I have done the best job I could do to prepare for retirement so I am going to take the leap and hope for the best. By remaining in the present moment, and enjoying it as best you can, you won’t have time for regrets or worries. Life has a way of taking care of itself and despite the fact that I’ve had some bad experiences, I have not had a bad life. Change your thinking and change your life. This one sentence summarizes most of the philosophical or self-help teachings I have ever read. Our minds can give us some of our greatest joys or they can fill our lives with mostly imaginary suffering. It's up to you.