One thing I have come to realize  is that behind all that rushing is fear.  Not an obvious fear, but fear, nonetheless.  We  become driven by the myth that there is some destination point, some arrival point that we must hurry up and get to. We  rush through our lives because we are afraid that we may ‘miss out’, ‘arrive too late’, or not get to that magical destination point.  Having rushed all my life, I can tell you there is no such thing as a destination point.  We never ‘arrive’; there will always be a further destination point that our mind will trick us into believing exists just up ahead.  At some point we begin to realize that it’s all about the process, the present process, and that the  journey is never-ending.

In reality, our very rushing causes us to miss out on the essences that we most want in life.  Life is a feeling experience, and we can only feel in the now moment.  The feeling experiences that we want out of life can only be experienced in the present.  Yet somehow, our mind has tricked us into believing it’s all ‘up ahead’.  We get so focused on that future destination point that we miss completely the life that is happening in front of our eyes.  If we stop for a moment, we may see that at least some of what we most want is already here, hiding in some small corner of the present moment, waiting for us to water it with our attention so that it can grow bigger.

It’s not easy to take your foot off fourth gear if you’re a rush-aholic. You have to re-configure your priorities.  What really are you here to achieve?  What’s the fear that’s driving you? It takes a lot of  soul-searching, clarity and discipline to give up all that hurrying toward future-based fantasies and that mythical, magical arrival point.  Whatever causes you to stop rushing, be grateful for it. Sometimes, your worn out, exhausted body may be the one to put on the brakes.  You’re forced to stop. You can no longer rush. You’ll find yourself  in a strange environment; you’ll even experience culture shock.  Such is what it is like for a rush-aholic to finally arrive in the present.

The present moment–aahh, could this be the arrival point you were always seeking?  As you move toward becoming a recovering rush-aholic, you’ll find the future will begin to drop away. Don’t be alarmed… no, you are not dying.  There is something up ahead, but you no longer try to live there.  You can take your time.  You understand that you can feel only in the present, so what’s the rush?

AAh, if that were only true.  But alas, we humans are much more powerful than we’d like to admit, and with a little clarity on this subject, we might be motivated to get off our fantasy float forever and become a lot more productive… and happier.

Fantasies are about the future. They are made-up scenarios that make us feel good, or so we think. In reality, fantasies medicate us from showing up in real time. They keep us from taking stock of what is in our ‘now’.

“But wait!”, you say. “I did show up in my ‘now’. And it stinks. And that’s exactly why I am building plenty of fantasies.”

It is true that for many of us, the present we find ourselves in is not exactly what we desire. But if we linger long enough, we will also discover the next step that is actualizable for us in this ‘now’.  This step is golden and well worth giving up your fantasies for, because it will lead you out of “what stinks” onto the path that will take you to your heart’s desires. If you spend your time fantasizing about the future, you will never be around in the now to see the real steps that are possible–and even necessary–for you right now.  

Spotted Eagle, a spirit guide, likes to say, “We’re always at the airport when our ship comes in.”  You can trust that the universe is bringing in your ship every moment, but are you here to see it? If we can discipline ourselves to ditch the airplane ride to fantasy island and keep ourselves in real time, one moment at a time, we will find we no longer have the need for fantasies.

But first, we need to understand the present moment. Contrary to popular New Age beliefs, the present  moment is not for the faint of heart….  
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