In any event, I realized that I had gone back in time. I told a few people about this. They were amazed when I was able to guess their names. I explained that I had met them before, and that I knew quite a bit about them.
The power of knowing what was to come was a bit intoxicating. I had opportunities to change so much in my life. The dream gave me options to change most, if not all of the most important things in my life today. For a few moments I had delusions of grandeur.
When I encountered a work colleague in a different way than I had in the real world, the gravity of the situation hit me. The friendly meeting that I had known would never take place, and from the first moment in this reality I knew that the relationship would forever be different than I had known it. I had an opportunity to have the upper hand, but at once realized that was not my desire.
I thought long and hard about my first thoughts to change so much in my life. I realized that I was were I am today because of every decision that I have made up until this point. With very few exceptions, I found that my decisions were made upon my values, my principles, my hopes, and my dreams. I came to the conclusion that I needed to tread very carefully in this new world, or I might end up with a whole slew of unplanned consequences.
Then I woke up. It wasn't the "wake up and roll over" sort of waking. I was fully alert, and full of energy. I thought about the dream.
While the dream of going back and changing the past might seem enchanting, it is truly a "grass is always greener on the other side" scenario. The pleasant reality is that the power to change tomorrow lies not in yesterday, but today. If we want things to be different tomorrow, we need only plant the proper seeds to enable that change today. We should not dwell on yesterday. We should examine yesterday only long enough to identify those things that brought us into places we now find unacceptable. As soon as we identify the behavior(s) to be avoided, we should firmly plant ourselves in the present moment. It is the present moment that we breath in. Only in the present moment are we agents of change. Only in the present moment do we have choice.
Some people spend all of their "present moments" dwelling on the past and fretting over things that didn't turn out the way they wanted them to. Such people will not find happiness until they release their judgments about past events and awaken into the moment of their current breath and the freedom to act that it brings.
Some people spend all of their "present moments" dreaming about the future and how great things will be in some later time. Such people will not find happiness until they stop planning and start planting. The future will only be different than the past, if in this present moment you choose to act in a way that will generate the change you want to see.
I am writing this as much for myself as I am writing this for you. The God of my heart knows that I am not perfect. Seeing a path out of the woods is truly different than walking that path. I have walked this path, and I have walked in circles in deep dark thickets. If I can shine some light on good soil, I am blessed. No one is perfect, yet the best of us don't stop seeking. I believe the "key" is in the moment we call "now".
At the risk of being a little "wordy"...
While the notion of perfection is only a construct of the mind, and cannot be reached in the physical world, the moderated drive towards that divine principle transforms the present moment.
Don't forget to breathe! Breathe deep like an unbound smile.
Sincerely,
Metajunkie
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