It is far too easy to get caught up in the magnitude of my situation and what lies on the horizon. It is far too easy to obsess over what is coming while forgetting what is before me now. In all of this madness it is, unfortunately, far too easy to lose myself. I said yesterday that I do not want to spend my time wondering “what could have been” and likewise, I don’t want to spend my time wondering “what will be.” By spending my time living in the past and regret, I increase the chances that there will be more instances to question in such a manner, and frankly, worrying about what will happen won’t get me anywhere at all. Really, the only thing we can affect is the present. And the present has a profound affect on my future and my perception of it when it is past.

While I must appreciate and reflect upon both the past and the future in order to fully understand the present, I must not spend too much time in either or else the present becomes utterly meaningless and lost. And the most important part to remember is that who I am in the past and in the future is not who I am now.

This year has been so much about learning to accept the present for what it is without the baggage of the past or the weight of worry for the future. In the end, the present is really all I have. I have to continue to learn to accept and embrace it for what it is. The last thing I want to do is lose track of myself. But who am I kidding, I have done it thousands of times before. The good news is that I am finding it easier to find myself each time I veer from the present.