1. Our future is changed easily and dramatically by the simple decisions we make daily.
2. Being stuck in the past can be dangerous.
3. Being stuck in the future can be dangerous.
4. No matter how far we fall, we can always find a way back.
5. The things that make us who we are may seem inconsequential until they are past.
6. If you have love, where (or when) you are matters little.
7. You can make plans, but you'll still have to improvise a great deal along the way.
8. No matter how much time passes, the people you love will always be a part of your life.
9. Time is always significant.
10. Lightning can strike the same place twice.
And now some thoughts...
Time has always been fascinating to me. How it can move so slowly one minute and so quickly the next. How it blurs once it has past. How impossible it is to fathom the next second and then, in a blink, it's gone. How things could've turned out so differently had we made different decisions in the past. How our mortal lives seem so short, yet amount to a blink of eternity's eye.
Perhaps this is what initially drew me to Back to the Future, which is now my favorite movie. The concept of moving throughout time is mind-blowing. Returning to a specific moment in time, watching it play out, knowing you can change it and all the following moments by doing one thing differently, makes time seem that much more significant, along with our personal role in each moment.
Thankfully (yes, thankfully), we do not have the ability to travel in time. We live each moment as it comes, and our lives are a result of decisions we make moment to moment, day to day, week to week, year to year. We learn from our mistakes and successes. We learn patience. We learn to move on, to forgive ourselves and others. We learn who we are. And we learn to truly live in the present, and that we cannot prosper elsewhere. We are living now, and it is no accident.
But how do we live in the present? Before I get into that, I should say what it isn't. Living in the present does not, by any means, amount to the instant gratification of our desires. As Gordon B. Hinckly once said, "The cause of most of man's unhappiness is sacrificing what he wants most for what he wants now." On the other hand, we must not live only in the future (or the past), forgetting that we are alive now. Rather, we must live for the future, in the present.
Rewording my original question, how do we live for the future, in the present? The way I see it, we make each moment count. We find our greater purpose, let it burn within us, and spend each moment living in a way that we can one day realize that ultimate goal. We let it fuel everything we do, and never take a moment for granted. We realize that all we can accomplish is minute compared to the strength and glory of God, but also that He is willing to help us accomplish our goals. And even if we fall along the way, even if we stumble, even if we are consumed by a fog of our own creation, we must fight to realign ourselves with that purpose, to never fully lose sight of what we want most.
In order to do this, we must be patient. Eternal life (my ultimate goal) is not achieved overnight, but rather through a lifetime of trials and tribulations and temptation and prayer and devotion. Every day, I take steps toward that goal. And all the other things that happen in life, the things that I plan and don't plan, the things that I want, the things I need, the things that I do, the things that fall through or pass me by or enrich my life, they constitute my own personal path toward that goal. Each individual day, each step, is small, but vital. We should never undervalue the importance of one centimeter of forward motion. Because before we know it, we've moved an inch, then a foot, then a mile, then ten miles, and onward to eternity.
Above all, we must have faith that everything will work out in the end. Our plans for ourselves are nothing compared to what the Lord has in store for us. We may not be able to see the end result - the future - but through the trials and pain we suffer, we are coming ever closer to realizing our full potential (as future exalted beings).
Our time on earth is limited and essential. So I will strive to live in the present and have faith.
To those of you who wonder why Back to the Future, Part I is my favorite movie, you should probably give it another watch. You'll be surprised at what you discover. Personally, it took me several dozen viewings to come to these conclusions. But that's life. Easy isn't in the formula for greatness (or eternal life).
"And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work." D&C 4:5
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