Is your focus on the present, or the future? My friend Israel Galindo sent me a writing book, A Writer’s Book of Days, by Judy Reeves, which I’ve been using daily this year. The book includes a writing prompt for every day of the year, a phrase to write about every day, just for practice. Today’s prompt was this: “in the meantime…” As I wrote I realized yet again how much my mind flies away down the path to the future. The present becomes nothing more than “the meantime,” the time we are marking until the real stuff happens.
Considering the future, clarifying goals, making plans, is all an important part of leadership. But the only moment we can experience is the present one. The present is not simply a prelude to the future. If we only think about the future, we don’t really show up in the present.
Stop right now and take a deep breath. Look out the window. What do you see? Look at the next person who crosses your path. What do you see? This moment is not simply the meantime: it is all we have. It is the only moment we can truly experience God’s presence.