This month’s poem is simply about appreciating the present moment – the “here and now” so to speak. Sometimes, I tend to dwell a little too much on the past, which is something I cannot change. And other times, I find myself fretting about the future, which is something I cannot predict. We’ve all heard anecdotal stories about someone who doesn’t learn from the past and finds themselves doomed to repeat it. Or folks who run full speed ahead toward a future goal, only to find that the horizon ahead of them didn’t turn out to be the destination they had hoped for. Conversely, sometimes, we hang on to the good memories we have and don’t allow ourselves to appreciate the present times, until they too become a fond and distant memory, or we fear what the future may hold, based on our own narrow perspective from where we currently stand. Then, when we move forward, we may find that the horizon wasn’t as scary as it appeared to be. Ever heard the stories of a man crawling across a desert floor, dying of thirst, that sees a vast lake on the horizon? He pushes ahead to find that it was only a mirage – his perception of reality was not in line with what truly lay ahead. Maybe you’ve been truckin’ along worrying about the dark clouds ahead, and you’ve been missing the beauty in the moments around you. The point is… we can’t change the past, we can only learn from it, and hold on to the good memories. We also can’t predict the future, so we shouldn’t fret about it. We should absorb the moments we are in now. I encourage you to read in the Bible, the book of Luke, Chapter 12, starting with verse 22, and see what Jesus said about worry. In verse 25, He says, “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?” Nobody can. The past is a treasure, the future is an unpredictable mirage, and the present is a priceless gift. Maybe that’s why it’s called “the present” – hmmmm?! Enjoy this one called The Mirage.
THE MIRAGE
By Trevor Hardwick
A man sees a lake in the desert,
He’s thirsty so he presses on.
It looks like the answer to all of his needs,
But soon it’s just up and it’s gone.
A minute ago he was certain,
The course he was on was the best.
How quickly things change, and plans rearrange,
When your future is put to the test.
I look through a bug-splattered windshield,
The wipers just smear and they squeak.
I’m thinking ‘bout times that I’ve left behind,
And the time I have left in the week.
I wonder where consequence comes from,
It comes from decisions I’ve made.
And perhaps from decisions of somebody else,
But in time every consequence fades.
There’s time that I’ve put in the mirror,
And time that I’m currently in.
But the notion that time is still waiting ahead,
Is a concept that’s wearing me thin.
The road and the clock start to own me,
As I try to chase both of them down.
They taunt me to play but they just run away,
And convince me to cover more ground.
Where I’ve been is just somewhere behind me,
Where I’m going is still out of reach.
Where I’m at is known as the here and the now,
Where we try to learn something to teach.
From here I can see where I came from,
Cause hindsight is clear as a bell.
But what lies ahead holds no guarantees,
And I can’t see the future as well.
So, I try to remain in the moment,
Cause it’s all that I know that I’ve got.
But I’ll press on ahead cause that’s how I’m bred,
And I’m further behind than I thought.
I occupy space in the present,
I learn from mistakes in the past.
I can’t claim to predict the future,
Cause everything’s changing so fast.
A man sees a lake in the desert,
He reaches for something to drink.
It’s all in his head because what lies ahead,
Ain’t always what everyone thinks.
