WHY WORRY FOR THE FUTURE?
They yearn not after that which is not come,
By what now is, do they maintain themselves;
Hence comes it that they look serene of hue.''
(Buddha)
The secret of happy, successful living lies in doing what needs to be done now, and not worrying about the past and the future. We cannot go back into the past and reshape it nor can we anticipate everything that may happen in the future. There is but one moment of time over which we have some conscious control and that is the present.
This Truth has been recognized not only by the Buddha but also by all the great thinkers of the world. They saw that it is futile to live in memories of the past and in dreams of the future, neglecting the present moment and its opportunities.
Time moves on. Let us not stand idly by and see our hopes for success turn into memories of failure. It lies in our power to build today something that will endure through many tomorrows, something more solid than castles in the air. The Buddha has shown us the way. The time is now and the choice is ours.
Many people just worry by thinking about their future. If they have learned to adjust themselves according to the circumstances of their daily life there is no reason for them to be worried. Whatever castles they may build in the air, whatever dreams they may have in their mind, they must always remember that they are living in this world of constant changes.
In consequence of unfavorable predictions by astrologers in the event of ill-health there may be harmful reactions.
A sufferer who believes in fate would think: ''This was preordained, this wasallotted to me by God; so I must submit.''
If he believes in Karma he will reason as follows: ''This is the result of my own activities in a previous life or in this life itself. I must try to rectify the balance of justice by strenuous exertion in doing good.''
Through Karma the individual grows and changes for better or worse from moment to moment, so that if we resort to meditation there is good Karma accumulating here and now. This is present Karma or this wordily Karma.
''there are no stars which we could trust,
There is not guiding light,
And we know that we must,
Be good, be just, be right.''
''Do not hark back things that passed,
And for the future cherish not yet come.
But who with vision clear can see
The present which is here and now
Such wise one should aspire to win
What never can be lost nor shaken.''
Source : From the book 'Why worry?' by K.Sri Dhammananda
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