Your Past Does Not Define Your Future
Our brain’s perception of reality is given more respect than it truly deserves.
Rumination vs. Brooding
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
― Albert Einstein
Ah, yes. Albert Einstein. His quotes are always worth a dig.
I came to this platform not too long ago in search of a way to broadcast ideas of a peaceful mind to those who live in a constant state of mental discomfort.
My search did not take long, as many of you have left your worries in the responses below. Ruminations and brooding, stress and relief, positive and negative thinking. Keywords and buzzphrases leaped from the page, and yet, all of them had one common theme:
The inability to move on.
Worrying about the past.
Worrying about the past is simply illogical thought processing done by the chemicals in your brain.
There is no logical reason to fear the past as it is not a tangible thing.
The past is a story we talk about, and that is all. It cannot harm you.
The present can harm you in the form of a fist or a falling tree limb.
Worrying about the present, because of the past.
I alone know I am wise because I alone know I know nothing.
— Socrates
The uncertainty of the present is plentiful, as it is vapid.
There is both a knowing and an unknowing of our surroundings.
We are able to perceive what is directly in our line of sight, but when we stray from this small sample of perception, things come up to interpretation. Sometimes, even what we see directly can be inaccurate.
And yet, because our brain has been our only source of perception throughout our cognitive existence, this brain of ours is given more respect than it really deserves.
There are countless illnesses and disorders which could cause your perception of reality to stray from the truth.
Do not fear now, and do not fear then. For we do not know what truly is here or there, then and now.
Worrying about the future, because of the present or past.
Many of my friends come to me with fears about their future.
“Why?” I ask them. Their answers vary. Maybe Friend 1 made a mistake back in college and fears the repercussions of them. Maybe Friend 2 fears their future because they lack a comfortable life in the present.
Those with anxiety disorders fear the future because of its uncertainty.
Relax your mind, embrace mindfulness, and remember to breathe. Your anxieties are nothing more than figments of your imagination.
