Riding a bike in the mountains of Colorado, where I live, is interesting because there are no flat roads. Going downhill I am pushed by an invisible hand—gravity—and as a result the ride is exciting and physically easy. Going uphill requires low gears and hard work. I have noticed that going uphill is much easier when the road is curvy, while biking uphill on a straight road can feel demoralizing. In a way this is surprising, physics tells us that for a given slope and distance the amount of work does not depend on whether the road is curved or straight. The difference is mental; on a straight road you can see how much work lies ahead while on a curvy road it is a surprise what happens after the next curve. The difference is between the ears, not in the tired legs!
The fact that it feels different to bike uphill on a straight road instead of a curvy road means that I am not truly present in moment, on the straight road I focus apparently on the climb ahead.
There is only one moment in time where we can live, which is the present, that infinitely thin dividing line between past and future. This is the eternal now. In practice, many of us do not focus much on the present but dwell on the past or future instead. To a certain extent that is natural and useful; the past is a storehouse of experience and lessons learned, and we may need to plan for the future. But the past can also be filled with painful memories, while our worries are concerned with what might happen in the future. Our judgments are mostly related by things somebody has said or done—the past—or by speculation of what somebody might do—the future. The same is true for rumination. Insomnia is often driven by worries about the future or regrets from the past. Imagine how well you would sleep if you’d focus only on the comfort of your bed! Whatever the situation is, dwelling on the past or the future takes our attention away from the only place where we truly can be: the present. Returning to bicycling, when you live in the present it does not matter what the road ahead is like, you take the uphills and the downhills as they come your way. For our life that translates into enjoying the joys and rolling with the punches.
Where do you put you attention? How much of your time do you focus on the past or future, and how much of your time are you really present? Does this change over time? What are the triggers that make you focus on the past or present? Can you eliminate some of these triggers? What are habits that bring your attention to the present? There might be activities that bring you into a Flow-state that you enjoy so much that that you focus completely on the now. Through introspection you might become aware of intrusive thoughts related to the past or the future that occupy your mind. Once you are aware of such thoughts, you can make a conscious effort to replace these thoughts by a focus on the present. It takes practice and experience to direct our attention to the present, but as we do so it can be liberating. If you can do this, it does not matter whether the road of life is straight or curved, and it does not matter what lies behind and what is ahead!