I was reading a blog post over at The Art of Simple, and it caused me to think about all the states we find ourselves in- the present, past, and future.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself in a constant tug of war amongst these times. As a writer, one of my first lessons was about which tense to write in. For some reason, as a storyteller I naturally recount stories (fact or fiction) in present tense. I think I try to help the listener/reader feel like they are there, in the moment. In manuscript form, it actually becomes quite distracting. So I learned to write in the past tense. It actually helps when I am trying to integrate ribbons of my own memories into my stories.

Trying to effectively balance the present and the future is more challenging. Everyday I try to fully enjoy my blessings – my children, my home, a good run, my family, my friends, something I read or saw that made me laugh. But I also need to dream. I look forward to future events – whether they are finite (like the next time I will have a visit with my parents), or those with no specific date (like when certain goals will be met, or places I’d like to go). Dreaming of the joy of these future events sometimes helps me get through the bad parts of my day. I can’t get so caught up in the future that I forget to take the steps to get there, but I can spend a few minutes letting their sweet wisps dance through my brain.

So enjoy your day. I hope today is all you want it to be, and each day gets even better from here.