Imaginary Troubles

October 7, 2007

Dear Friends,

On September 26th I spoke at a Unity church in the charming old town of Quincy, Illinois. Quincy is only twenty miles from Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain. When I discovered that, I was reminded of my favorite Mark Twain quote:

“I have known a great many troubles in my life . . . but most of them never happened.”

Have you ever spent hours fretting and worrying about some kind of problem that—at that particular point in time—had yet to occur . . . and you had no totally reliable way of knowing that it actually would occur? I certainly have. And sometimes, I still do. I foresee some potential “trouble” looming ahead of me, and then I start imagining in great detail what it will be like to live through that challenge.

What a misuse of the imagination that is! And just think of the unnecessary stress that puts on the body . . . because the body doesn’t always know the difference between an imagined experience and a real one! When you are having an experience in your mind, then you might as well be truly living it!

Perhaps, if you could predict an event with 100% accuracy, then there might be some kind of benefit in letting it play out in your head. But most of the time—if not all of the time—you simply cannot forecast what is going to happen in your life.

Life is always full of surprises. So it doesn’t make much sense to continually imagine the worst. And when you do, you are not only needlessly torturing yourself, but you are also blocking your ability to be in the flow. How so?

Well, for one, projecting yourself into the future takes your attention off the present. And guess what? The present is where the flow is—not the future. Now is when the flow opens doors for you. And now is when the flow creates opportunities for you. If you want to live your life in the divine flow, you must be aware, awake, and alive in the present moment. Only in the current moment can you feel that underlying current of God’s goodness, and take advantage of it.

Also, as I often mention, to be in the flow you must be open and receptive to divine direction. And that requires a positive frame of mind. Any kind of negativity—including the kind of waking nightmares I am describing here—will greatly interfere with your ability to see the divine signs and sense the intuitive nudges that are guiding you to your good.

Isn’t life challenging enough without making stuff up? Instead of jumping ahead and experiencing “troubles” that have yet to happen, and may never happen, why not focus on what actually is happening. It’s the only thing that is ever happening—the here and now moment. You may be amazed by the incredible peace and power you find there.

Steven

© 2007 by Steven Lane Taylor