Time's Flow and Our Conscious Experience

 

Physically, the flow of time may be an illusion, but since we feel time passing moment by moment, we have no choice but to live in the direction in which time moves. It is natural, therefore, that our eyes and mouth face forward. When we consider the time axis of past, present, and future, we can revisit the past as many times as we like in our minds. Similarly, we can think about the future as much as we wish. However, the present moment is fleeting. When we are fully engaged and absorbed in something, our consciousness exists in the present moment, a series of moments, and the sense of fulfillment we experience arises only from that moment. Conversely, when we are anxious, our consciousness oscillates between the past and the future, seldom lingering in the present moment. The only way to eliminate or reduce anxiety is to concentrate on identifying the cause and solution within the current moment sequence, then resolve it in the subsequent present moments. When viewed this way, we cannot afford to waste any moment of the present.

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