The Anticipation Trap

I see intriguing videos on YouTube that I save to ‘Watch later.’ I eye tempting stuff on Amazon and add it to ‘Wishlist.’ I stack books in my ‘Want to read’ list on Goodreads.

In a way, I hoard things with the hope that I’ll have enough time to relish them. Then I look forward to finishing them because every trinket I gather packs in it a promise of a better future.

But it’s a trickily delusive trap

This hoarding habit reveals a simple truth — that I believe that life is somewhere in the future.

The anticipation of the future takes away the need to focus on what’s happening now.

In my heart, I can falsely reassure myself that something beautiful awaits me in the distance, making happiness seem like it’s nothing more than a matter of patience.

But mindfully now, I’m growing aware of how years can pass while I may have been too busy convincing myself to “Hold tight until I get there.”

I want to be simply aware that this moment is precious. Because it passes. And all the things that I’ve been waiting for so long…will pass this way, too.