The best thing about now is that tomorrow there’s more

Thinking about the long-term consequences of our actions is one of the most effective ways to bring about radical change.

Hello friends!

I was away from my beloved São Lourenço (MG) for a few days due to a trip to participate in a colleague’s doctoral committee, in Juiz de Fora. At the hotel, before going to sleep, I ended up watching a very interesting movie (I’ll find out the name and share it in the comments). What caught my attention the most was a quote from the main character: “The best thing about now is that there’s more tomorrow”.

When we start studying mindfulness and related subjects, we start to value the now a thousand times more. After all, the past – more recent or more distant – is a mental image and the future is a possibility. Certainly, when we realize the importance of the present moment, we will have different insights. Many are about our relationship with the past…for example, what’s the point of holding onto a grudge? While other questions are about the future.

If, on the one hand, we can stop worrying so much about what will or will not happen, on the other hand, some people may fall into a mistaken and inconsequential extreme. It would be as if they said: “since only the now matters, I will not think about the future and I will do what I want”.

At heart, this is a hedonistic perspective. I do not mean to say that it is a perspective that should not be adopted. Each one knows their own life and each one must decide – for themselves – what they consider their path.

However, one cannot fail to see that hedonism (which, roughly speaking, is the ethics that seeks pleasure), ends up falling into cycles of future suffering. I will try to explain by an example.

Land and a possible house

Let’s say you’ve saved up some money and then decide to buy some land. The land is there, beautiful, in your name and you think it would be great to build a house. However, today it’s sunny, the day is beautiful, and it’s more pleasant to go to the beach. After all, what really matters is enjoying the day.

Strictly speaking, this is an attitude that is often confused with mindfulness: observing the moment, intently, with an open mind. It turns out that, ethically, if every moment is just dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure, we end up producing nothing. In my opinion, what transforms the mindfulness attitude into a true attitude is the anticipation of the future of our actions through awareness of our present.

So, back to the example. You have the land. Think of the house. Today is a February day. Every now and every day has its needs, and why not? Let’s seize the day. The days, the weeks, the months go by and 10, 20 years later the land is still there, but no house…

I mean, living just now, just this now, without thinking about anything, without thinking about the consequences is probably a foolish attitude. The film’s phrase sums it up: the best thing about now is that tomorrow there’s more.

The best thing about now is that tomorrow there’s more

When I say it’s probably foolish, I just mean that not everything goes for everyone. There are not a few who abandon everything and join religious communities. However, deep down, each one is building their “house”. In other words, while some want a family, others want spirituality above all else, others want to study, and still others want other things.

Finally, each one will have their own “house” to be built on their “land”. What is foolish is wanting something and not taking advantage of the time you have to go in that direction, because

thinking about the long-term consequences of our actions is one of the most effective ways to bring about radical change.

Think: if you keep doing what you’re doing today… what’s the chance of you getting where you want to get? Is the “house” you want to build being built? Or are you just letting weeds grow in your empty “land”?

The best thing about now is that tomorrow there’s more. Tomorrow we will live more “nows”. Therefore, it is better to live this now, also bearing in mind the consequences this now.

Questions, suggestions, comments, please write below!

PS (PostScriptum)

Oh yes, the movie is called The Spectacular Now. In Portuguese: The Wonderful Now.

I just found out, lol, that there is also a book – The Wonderful Now. Synopsis: “Sutter Kelly is The Man, the king of parties. However, unlike his teenage friends, he is not concerned with the future, he is more interested in living in the now. With a baptized 7Up in hand, he’s ready for anything. But not everything is going well for him. He’s always arguing with his mother, his father hasn’t heard from him in years, and his girlfriend Cassidy dumped him. But in the midst of this chaos, sweet Aimee may awaken Sutter to another reality. And for the first time, he has the power to make a difference in someone’s life, or ruin it forever.”

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