IshtiaQ Ahmed revival to Photography
Present Moment
Most people spend a significant part of their day worrying about what happened yesterday, what may happen tomorrow, or living with the expectation that some future date or occurrence will magically cause contentment to finally be theirs. "When I buy a house," "When I get married," "When I get divorced," "When I lose weight," "When I have more money," "When vacation gets here," "When I have kids," or "When the kids are finally grown and gone."
There always seems to be something about the circumstances of our lives at the moment that makes us yearn for a better time that was, or creates an expectation of a better time in the future. What ever happened to contentment? Mind you, aspirations and goals are wonderful things, but not when they cause us to lose our joy in today. It is the pursuit of aspirations and goals that create excitement. It is the way we live our lives that determine its texture and significance, not the details of our circumstance.
Only when we consider the best part of our lives to be our present moment, will we reap the benefits and joy of contentment - living in real time. Bask in the reality of now. If there is a beautiful scene around you, create a place that allows you to enjoy it with great luxury. Do you think you would have a better view of God's artistic handiwork if you were on a tropical beach somewhere, reclining with an umbrella drink in your hand? If so, you are setting the scene of your own discontent; you've left real time behind.
Most discontent comes from a false belief that everyone else is better off than we are, and all we need to do is get what they have, look like they look, or act like they act in order to be who they appear to be. In truth, "they" are seldom what they appear to be.
When we reach the end of this life, our greatest regrets will have nothing to do with what we didn't have; they will be in how we wasted the opportunities we had to live joyously, share openly and love greatly.
Taken: Colony of Jutts, Karoor, Simly Lake View, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Present Moment
Most people spend a significant part of their day worrying about what happened yesterday, what may happen tomorrow, or living with the expectation that some future date or occurrence will magically cause contentment to finally be theirs. "When I buy a house," "When I get married," "When I get divorced," "When I lose weight," "When I have more money," "When vacation gets here," "When I have kids," or "When the kids are finally grown and gone."
There always seems to be something about the circumstances of our lives at the moment that makes us yearn for a better time that was, or creates an expectation of a better time in the future. What ever happened to contentment? Mind you, aspirations and goals are wonderful things, but not when they cause us to lose our joy in today. It is the pursuit of aspirations and goals that create excitement. It is the way we live our lives that determine its texture and significance, not the details of our circumstance.
Only when we consider the best part of our lives to be our present moment, will we reap the benefits and joy of contentment - living in real time. Bask in the reality of now. If there is a beautiful scene around you, create a place that allows you to enjoy it with great luxury. Do you think you would have a better view of God's artistic handiwork if you were on a tropical beach somewhere, reclining with an umbrella drink in your hand? If so, you are setting the scene of your own discontent; you've left real time behind.
Most discontent comes from a false belief that everyone else is better off than we are, and all we need to do is get what they have, look like they look, or act like they act in order to be who they appear to be. In truth, "they" are seldom what they appear to be.
When we reach the end of this life, our greatest regrets will have nothing to do with what we didn't have; they will be in how we wasted the opportunities we had to live joyously, share openly and love greatly.
Taken: Colony of Jutts, Karoor, Simly Lake View, Islamabad, Pakistan.