The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment.

– The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

Yes I finally read the Forty Rules of Love, by Elif Shafak. The book was very thought provoking. It was a reaffirmation of many beliefs I hold true, it served as a reminder of the  important things in life, and left the reader with a lot of food for thought.   As I let the 40 rules marinate in my mind, I will regurgitate some of them as I process them.

To start with rule #28. We have all heard it before, live in the moment, the present is what is real and yet most of us drag the past with us as we pave the way for the future,and in the process create just a liveable present. Firm in the belief that the present will pass. Using carefully adorned reminiscences from the past and presumptuous optimism of the future, as our crutches for the present. Hoping that together they will help us carry the weight of the moment.

But why are we always trying to pass the present, even though it is the only real moment we have. We are so comfortable bearing hardships in the present only to create a picturesque future. Why do we want the certainty of hardships today in exchange for the possibility of hardships in the future?

No where can this mindset be more evident than in immigrants. They sacrifice their present in hope for a better future. Spending day after day, some home sick, some lonely, some angry, some bitter, but all hopeful that the future will be better. Losing count of when the future rolled into the present and also passed.

What is a better future? And can a better future really exist without a beautiful present? Is the future  not just an extension or trajectory of our present and the past an account of it, both deeply entrenched and sourced by the present moment. If only we could live life in the present, if we could manage all our relationships without a past history nor a future expectation, we would be ensuring a better future and a beautiful past. May be that is what hell and heaven really are ………a real moment.