Past, Present or Future?

The future. It provides hope, love and ultimately life.

Everyone has a past, or as people like to so often and cynically refer to it these days as, baggage. Most people are for the better part and somewhat in the present, and the future, well I am not so sure how many people actually look to the future anymore, which kind of scares and saddens me.

I was brought up mostly by my Grandparents who hailed from Europe and had lived, and I mean LIVED through the second world war. There were famines, holocausts, bombings, deaths, rapes, murders, you name it, two of the greatest, kindest and most loving people I know, experienced it all and well before they had even hit thirty years of age. Reality check right there in itself.

I listened to many stories, obviously heavily watered down for a child's ears, but there was always one resounding and underlying theme to each story. The hope for a better and brighter future. Sure, we discuss this all the time in the West, but these were stories of the extreme, where people were being forced into horrific and abnormal situations that tested the very core of what it meant to suffer and yet many times, had more hope and faith in their hearts than most I encounter today, most that seem to be devoid of any real major problems in comparison.

I am a massive believer in living in the now, there really is no other way, it is the present that allows us to create what we want for the future, but also keep a mindful eye on the past as to not repeat those things that did not enhance us or feed our souls in the right way. So then why is it so hard for me to accept others that seem to only live in the now? Like I said, I am here, doing my thing and ready and open to all the experiences and challenges life has to offer, why can't I just leave it at that? I even believe in the mantra "live each day as if it was your last". I will tell you why.

Being hurt by others, especially where matters of the heart are concerned is something that we are all to familiar with at some point(s) in our lives. We for the better part, pick ourselves up, dust off the pain and get on with living in the present, all the while hoping that the future will be better than it ever has been. Right? So then why do so many seem to think that you are to only live in the now and come across as being unable to commit to the future? Again, I have an idea.

I honestly believe that many of us grew up with the ideals of my Grandparents, yet somewhere and unfortunately, someone, really messed with our hearts, heads and ultimately distorting the way we see our futures. The amount of times recently I have heard the following statement "I used to believe in love, but my heart was beyond broken. Now I just believe in the moment, nothing more. Real love doesn't exist". Sad, huh? It also doesn't give much hope to people like me, who although I share the above cheating/lying/deceit histories, still believes in love. I still believe that we must acknowledge and learn from our pasts in order for us to succeed in the present. But we must also look to the future, where our dreams, hopes and aspirations lie, and YES, this can include someone special, someone that only comes along once, maybe twice in a lifetime. Someone that may just redefine that concept yet again, but this time for the better, ensuring you understand that the past is what brings us to the present, but the future is what keeps us going in the here and now.

The future is bright, very bright...