Sunday, February 6, 2011

A Future Worth Exploring


The mind is an interesting place. I find myself avoiding the present moment in favor of illusions; fantasies of my future, while simultaneously avoiding the practical implications and problems that will undoubtedly face me in the future. This fantasy-land of the mind is alluring, seductive, and dangerous. It's no wonder why so many people seem to be "stuck in their heads."

I am capable of creating a glorious future with adventures, love, beauty, health and learning, and I am also capable of imagining hardships, despair, dis-ease, and loss. I think about wonderful possibilities and opportunities I want to explore, and then in the next moment dissuade myself on the basis of the difficulty of achieving them, or, more frequently, the low likelihood that I would be able to afford the objects of my fantasies. ("Objects" referring to experiences, rather than things, usually).

And then other times, in rare states of awareness, I am amazed at the infinite number of doors open to me. It can be both liberating and exciting, or overwhelming and scary.

And yet, there are certain rules and "understandings" that keep me from acting on all of these possibilities because of social norm, or knowledge of danger, or maybe no specific reason at all- sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it begs to be disregarded.

And in times of a more balanced state of mind, I can see the irony of it all. I can see how grand imagination for my future is a wonderful thing, and yet how I need to be more grounded in the present, and I can find value in my skeptical mind as a tool for practicality. My openness to opportunity is useful, but only in balance with a sense of protection and knowledge of practical applications and the preparedness of having a Plan B.

It's just a matter of finding the balance, and remaining grounded in my dreams, with respect to physical limitations and practicality, as well as remaining open to serendipity, and not being attached to outcomes. Yep, it's just a matter of balance- peace of pie, no?