Past Present and Future

Life of an individual comprises of past, present and future i.e., yesterday, to day and tomorrow. How we look at past, present, and future depends on our mindset. Past, present, and future are not spread evenly in one's life. Their duration and nature varies from individual to individual too.It is thoughts that can only take one into past, present and future. Memory can take one into past only. How deep it can one into past depends upon their memory power. Past is history. If present,past and future are all good it is a successful life.If present, past and future are all not good , it is a horrible life. Even If one among the past present and future is not good , then also it is a difficult life. Life is seldom a bed of roses.

Present has the shortest duration amongst past, present and future. Past present and future are interrelated. At a given moment, future can be either longer or shorter than past. Our promise for the future is strengthened by what we have done in the past. If we have done nothing in the past and promise everything in the future our credibility suffers.Past, present and future is a continuum. We just cannot mechanically separate them...There can be no future unless it is borne out of the present. Present is generally a replica of past. Most people do not change. There should be will, efforts, energy, and encouragement,to improve upon the past.What we are to day is because of our efforts of yesterday.

We enjoy the fruits of our hard work put in yesterday to day or tomorrow only. Similarly we suffer for our sins or mistakes committed during past in the present days or in the days to come. Nobody will be left unpunished for his or her blunders committed in the past, present or future. When we would pay for them, it is only unknown. Similarly good deeds would always find light or recognition one day or other. Time would only tell us when. Present is mirror into the past. Thus to know a person we look into his or her past. Here some even probe into their family to know the antecedents. The relationship, friendship, love and such other bonds of the past must develop in the present and continue to the future. Broken relationship, friendship or love could not be set right so easily, it needs sincere concerted efforts of all concerned including the mediators. Otherwise the patch up would give in any moment and condition still worsens.

Past is a period elapsed. It is a remembrance. It can be either good, or bad or neither good or bad at all. What has happened in the past can affect present and future too. Past haunts. We will remember more about the past provided our memory is very good and have ample time to recollect. Past is for reference. Some people dwell more on their past. Those who have the habit of beating the drum go on talking more and more about the past. They exaggerate.Generally such people do not have anything more to add to the society or world.The past achievements of them might not be even remarkable or appreciable too. In other words their contributions are rather insignificant. Once or twice, people would listen to such people later on what they say falls on deaf ears. We must learn from our past. We should not repeat our past mistakes. We should not blame anybody for their past. In certain respects only we must remember our past otherwise we must always bury the past. To err is human but to forgive is divine. We must not blame the past for our failure; it would be called a lame excuse. Brooding over the past is of no use. It is just like crying over the split milk. We cannot correct or change the past even a little. Past is past. More we recollect our past failures and think we should have done like this and we should not have done like that etc we waste our time and become depressed. Instead we could consider and use present and future as an opportunity or challenge and achieve or do what we could not do or achieve in the past. Where there is a will there is always a way. We can think of past achievements and successes, which may develop our confidence. Success goes to those who work hard only. The life of great people generally becomes a part parcel of history and it serves as an inspiration and guide to the present and future generation. The autobiographies of great people also serve the same purpose. Life rarely runs evenly to anybody health wise, wealth wise; happiness wise, events wise etc. Either the past would be good or the present or the future but not all the three. If the past is good, it is better to remember it lest forget it. Similarly if the present is good forget the unsavory past and hope for the better future .If the present and past are so, so, then hope that the future would be good. It is always better to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. Even though one has suffered a lot in the past, and has been suffering at present and there is only a little hope that future would be good, yet an optimist is always hopeful complacent and happy and awaits better future whereas a pessimist is quite opposite even though his or her past and present are extremely good he or she would never expect the future to be good. Circumstances, surroundings, opportunities and company are some of the factors that influence any personality. This truth applies to one’s past, present or future. That is why it is said that man is circumstances made.

We may be aware what he was yesterday. We may be aware what he is to-day. But certainly we would not be aware what he would be tomorrow. Why he himself would not be aware what he would be tomorrow. King may become a beggar and a beggar may become a king tomorrow. We cannot predict accurately anything as regards future. Future is always uncertain. Future can be either bright or bleak or may remain as it is. It is unborn. What is in store tomorrow, nobody knows. We do not know how long we would live, or what would happen tomorrow. Why we do not know even what would take place very next moment. Yet we strive for better tomorrow. We think of tomorrow. It is the hope that tomorrow is there and it would be good that leads to many of our activities. While committing any crime or sin or taking any extreme step for that matter the fear that we have to face tomorrow comes across and restrains. A poet by name Fitzgerald says when to day is pleasant why we should think of unborn tomorrow and dead yesterday. Future always depends on our present and past. Past, present and future are inter dependent on one another. They are the three phases of life. They demarcate life into three zones. We do not know exactly neither what is the length of each one of these parts nor their contents. The moment we die our present and future go into oblivion and everything becomes things of the past and only our deeds remain to speak for us. Future is always elusive. Revenge, enmity, anger, jealousy, and rivalry etc are on account of conflicts, disputes, defeats, bloodshed, and unfulfilled desires etc that belong mostly to the past and continue to haunt the present as well as future. These qualities and also the pride are a sort of fire within an individual, which slowly burn him or her and try to burn the opponents too. These qualities are generally inherited and sown by elders. Sometimes they continue for generations unless they are not nipped in the bud. If we allow them to grow they grow by leap and bounds and we continue to be restless and would never be happy or complacent until and unless we get rid of all of them. One would lose his common sense, intelligence etc under their influence. Man becomes beast at times. Complacency and happiness are states of mind, which every human being always tries to have whether it is present, past or future but only a few would succeed in their endeavor but to majority of people they are elusive.

Wise people plan their life meticulously. Experience is the best teacher. Not only they learn from every experience but also they utilize their knowledge and experience at every stage of life. It does not matter to them whether it is present, past or future. They do not generally divide life into three separate segments as past present and future. They lead a fruitful life. They enjoy every bit of life. They do omen service to the humanity.

Ambitions may differ from person to person. However it is quite natural for every man to have ambitions. One may have great expectations from the future. Of course, expectations depend upon one’s nature and past experience too. Some hope that there would be windfall; others build castles in the air. Everybody waits for tomorrow with eagerness. Tomorrow is always a hope. It is always better to have a limit for one’s ambition and hope too. One should be always prudent in that regard. Only a few among us are fortunate whose majority of ambitions get fulfilled, dreams come true while many of their ambitions also lick the dust too. Individual as a result is confronted with disappointment, dejection etc. More ambitious is a person more would be his or her disappointment, dejection etc. Similarly if more ambitions are fulfilled more satisfied the individual would be. By and large, everything depends on the personality of an individual. Yesterday there were no television, mobile phones, washing machines, dishwashers, cooking gas, micro oven etc. and standard of living needed improvement and for tomorrow everyone looks forward for more and more comforts and expects further inventions. Man is moving towards utopia. Happy events especially childhood days, school days, our successes, achievements etc whether they belong to present or past every body remembers them. At times of distress they come to our rescue and help us to bear or forget our difficulties and do not allow us to get depressed. Our friend circle, kith and kin make our life pleasant whether it is past, present, or future. Similarly at times they make our life miserable too. They add to our woes. If to day is excellent, yesterday was good that does not mean that tomorrow would be fine, tomorrow might be the worst. Likewise if yesterday was the worst, and to day is so, so yet tomorrow could be excellent. Life is unpredictable. It is the fate that decides everything. Hope keeps everybody alive. A good doctor treats a patient with hope that he would cure his or her disease, a surgeon performs operation on a patient with the hope and that he would be successful and would be able to give the patient a new lease of life. Generally everybody hopes that tomorrow would be favorable even in the worst of the worst situation. There are people who even at the brink of defeat expect victory and continue the fight. One has to face numerous problems at every stage of his or her life whether it is present, past or future. Success of a person always depends on how he or she tackles those problems that confront him or her and comes out unscathed and successfully. If one masters the art of living his or her task would be definitely easy. Similarly, it is advisable to develop great qualities in life to be a great man .One who adopts forget and forgive policy and who could remember only what is necessary for life would generally have a successful life. Forgetfulness sometimes turns out to be a blessing in disguise especially if we could forget unsavory events of past and present, so that we could lead our future life merrily. Better do not postpone anything for tomorrow for tomorrow may not come at all. These are some of the strategies to be adopted during one’s past present and future. It is not important how long we lived but it is important how we lived. There are hundreds of universal truths that are applicable to all times i.e., past, present or future for example: the saying a bird in hand is always better than two in bush, a stitch in time saves nine, truth always prevails, a friend in need is friend indeed, every rule has an exception………… The poet Lord Tennyson says “Old order changes yielding place to new”. Some of those people who were there yesterday to day they are not there, to day we find some new faces and tomorrow we may find some more new faces and also some faces disappearing. Additions and deletions to society take place every moment. Similarly law, thinking etc change from time to time. What was applicable yesterday to day it may not be applicable, tomorrow it may become stale or obsolete. We often listen to the remarks “ he or she has bright future or no future etc.” Here future means “future prospects”. Similarly the remark his or her past is not good carries the information that the past record of the person whom we are referring is far from satisfactory. When we are referring to one’s present means his or her present status.

Life is strange. Past is a dream, which should be remembered wherever necessary only and forgotten wherever it is unsavoury. Present is a reality. One could be definitely happy provided one focuses more on present and one is not bothered about what had happened to them in the past nor worried what would happen to them in future. Future again could be dreamt. Dreaming is also nothing but planning for the future too.