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  %PAST PRESENT FUTURE EXPECT DISAPPOINT DESIRE JOY 900205

     Much  of human joy and disappointment have to do with
the  human  ability to anticipate the future and  remember
the  past.   It  would be otherwise if  consciousness  was
always focused exclusively upon the present. We may regret
the  past,  feel guilty about past actions,  be shamed  by
others for what we have done.

     We may desire that things be different in the future,
that we accomplish or achieve some particular goal by some
specific future time etc. How well we feel about ourselves
at  some  future time when it has become the  present  may
well depend upon how wisely we anticipated,  desired,  and
expected  the  course of our life to develop;  and how  we
contributed to that development.

     Thus,   how healthy we are depends upon how  well  we
deal with the passage of our time; how we regard our past,
our present and our future. Confusion, ignorance, and lack
of  realistic appraisals regarding temporal sequences  are
signs of a lack of health.

     To  be  healthy we need to have reasonable skill  and
honesty  in predicting the consequences of choices.  If we
are  not reasonably skilled and honest in  predicting  for
ourselves  what will likely happen if we do (or do not do)
certain things,  we are likely to suffer the consequences;
and  not  correct our behavior because of  our  confusion,
ignorance and lack of realistic appraisals.  We may  blame
others for our own failures;  and neither we nor they will
profit from our inappropriately blaming of others.

     To profit from our mistakes we need to be clear about
the   connections   between  our   attitudes,    thinking,
expectations, behaviors, and ways of understanding things;
and  how things turn out for us.  If we are confused about
cause    and   effect,    anticipations/expectations   and
disappointment;   then  we are likely to  suffer  needless
disintegrative consequences and be unhealthy. Then it will
be  difficult for us to learn from our mistakes and so  it
will be difficult for us to regain our health.

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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