Part II of “Why Worry About Tomorrow”
What do we think about when we think? It is possible that we think too much. Many times are thoughts are not productive or useful and they decrease our ability to be happy and at peace. So there you have it, don’t think and be happy. Almost, but not exactly.
Many of the thoughts that affect us negatively are thoughts of the past or thoughts of the future. We replay the old mind tapes of times when we wish we did this instead of that or we relive our resentments, over and over. And the future, well, we can make that as big as we want. No one knows what that holds for us but we certainly try to control it and worry about it nonetheless. We can even think too much about what we may consider to be the present. How many of you fantasize about life being different in some way? You may not be thinking about the past or the future, but you are not being with the present moment as it actually exists either. All of this useless thinking takes us away from the present moment, which is all that we really have and strips us of our ability to be happy here and now.
Even though you may try to stop the nonproductive thoughts, you will not be able to do so perfectly and that’s all right. When you realize that your mind has wandered just bring it back to the present. Try to be aware of whatever it is that you are presently doing. For example, if you are walking, be aware of the movements of your legs and your arms. Be aware of how it feels when your feet touch the ground. Be aware of your surroundings and the people you are with. Fully appreciate this moment. There should be plenty happening in the present to keep your mind occupied. By being with this moment, we make it difficult to think of any other time or place thus eliminating useless, nonproductive and harmful thoughts, the kinds of thoughts that rob us of our happiness and peace.
There are times, of course, that we need to think. I am not telling you to blindly approach life without thought. We’ll need to think in order to make decisions and we’ll need to think about ourselves and our motives to be certain that we’re doing what’s right. It’s also a good idea to do personal inventories, regularly checking our actions and motives so that we can make the necessary changes and apologies 
This type of inventory can require us to think deeply. These examples are of healthy and productive thinking. See the difference? Examples of healthy and productive thinking are endless, so I will stop here and leave it up to you to decide for yourself whether your thoughts are necessary, useful and productive or not. You’ll have to think about it
It takes practice to be able to live in the moment. So keep trying and one day you may suddenly realize that you no longer spend most of your time thinking about another time and place and you’ll know what it’s like to be fully present in this moment. It is quite peaceful and extraordinary.
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