Experientially Speaking

 

 

We all live in the present

And some of us wish it would last,

Others, on the other hand,

Wish the present were past.

 

The latter long for a future

That is better than their now,

They wish every day and night

To be rid of the present somehow.

 

It’s an experience they hate

Since little is in their favour,

It takes their blood, sweat and tears

But gives little for their labour.

 

How they wish it would pass

And morph into a brighter future

Rather than this present horror!

Oh! What a dismal picture!

 

A continuous nightmare

From which there’s is no waking up

And the present, experientially,

Is a horrid and bitter cup.

 

But, there is another group

That wish the present would last,

For them, most of it is joyous

And they are having a blast.

 

 

Born at the right time it appears

And into a thriving family,

The luck of the draw, some may say,

For their present prosperity.

 

Apparent control is theirs

And they control the lesser class,

Why in tarnation, tell me,

Would they want the present to pass?

 

The middle group, however,

Care not one way or another,

They go about each and everyday

With little care or bother.

 

They forget what day it is;

For them, every day is the same,

The only difference, as they see it,

Is in its specific name.

 

They are not as good as some

But they are better than the worst

And for them, unlike some others,

Their present is not a curse.

 

Whether the present goes away

Or whether the present remains,

It really does not matter;

For them, each day is the same.

 

 

Three positions re the present

That is, experientially speaking:

And while it differs for each position

They are all three self-seeking.

 

Whatever the present brings

Human nature thinks about self,

Experientially speaking,

It is about health and wealth.

 

Stewart Russell © September 13, 2022

 

Seemingly So

 

 

Seeming is apparent

It’s never definitely certain,

There is still some skepticism

Lurking behind the curtain.

 

As the drama unfolds

So many things can occur

To question the apparent

And make one more unsure.

 

Seeming is never certain

It is more of a hope,

More like a mechanism we use

To help us to cope.

 

A friend once said to me

Ninety-nine percent is still unsure,

There is some reservation

That looms more and more.

 

It is always the uncertainty

That worries us the most,

And it’s only a hundred percent

In which we can boast.

 

 

There is certainty with God

I can think of no one else,

Not even in the greatest human

And surely not in self.

 

You see, God knows everything

And we do not,

Nothing is apparent to Him

But appearance is our lot.

 

It is all we have to go on

That is, outside of God,

It is somewhat like the lotto

Until the numbers are called.

 

The present is our best bet,

The future is a no-show

And if indeed it comes around,

There is only today to show.

 

How it seems is exactly that

No matter our insistence,

Appearance is an approximation;

It’s not an exact science.

 

Take Longfellow’s timely advice:

Trust no future however pleasant,

However bright it may seem,

Seemingly so is just apparent.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

No True Gauge

 

 

 

Four quarters in a year

And three are pretty much gone,

The past has been fairly daunting

And many are afraid to go on.

 

Gauging the future by the past

Is something most of us do

Especially if trended towards the bad

We expect the future to be too.

 

Hence, September remember:

Remember that 1955 storm!

And so, whenever September comes,

The sign goes up, “Be Warned!”

 

Thus October, it’s all over!

Gauging the future by the Past

But the past reminded us again

Such projections do not last.

 

So now our hurricane season

Lasts from June to November,

It’s not all over in October

And this we must remember.

 

And now wisely reflecting

On the months that have flown

We still can’t know the future

For the future is unknown.

 

Our experts can project

Based on calculated probability

But never mind how astute the math,

The past is never destiny.

 

 

“There will be” is no guarantee:

Of the future none is sure,

There is definitely no tomorrow

And the past is no more.

 

No true gauge of the future

The past can ever be,

The most that we can be sure of

Is the present we now see.

 

And even this is limited

For our sight is severely flawed,

All the more reason, my friend,

Why we need to trust in God.

 

Stewart Russell © September 30, 2022

 

Trust no future, howe’er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act, act in the living Present!

Heart within, and God o’erhead!

 

From A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Now

 

It is now ten minutes after three

And here I am before my computer

I guess you knew that though

That should produce some laughter.

I guess you also know what I am doing

Right now I am typing; you are smart,

Typing what you need not ask,

This poem you are now reading: that’s a start.

Now we know what each of us is doing

Let me deal with the matter at hand,

It is now three-seventeen in the morning

I am awake; that was not the original plan.

But you see ever since retirement

I have no set sleeping time,

I just have this feeling whenever the opportunity

To express what ever is on my mind.

It is not that I cannot sleep

Actually I have slept for a bit before

But right now I am awake

Since I do not feel like sleeping anymore.

I know you are reading this poem now

Because now is when you are reading it,

Whenever we get around to doing something

Now becomes the general habit.

It might not be the same now

As was the original plan

But now is now whenever that is

And that goes for both woman and man.

That brings me to the point;

Someone promises to do something now

But does it five days later,

How could that be? Tell me how.

That may be your query

But it is certainly not mine

Because whenever that something is done

Now would be that time.

  

You see the past no longer exists

It is just a memory,

The future never ever comes

Now is the reality.

We spend much time discussing the past

While the now is ever before us,

Short term, mid-term, long term projections;

It is the future about which we fuss.

Hence we are unable to sort out the now

Since the past is always on our mind,

The future beckons and we are not prepared

Little worry about the present time.

Yes, what we currently are going through

Produces some anxiety

But that is nothing compare to the outlook

As though living tomorrow now is a possibility.

I trust by now you have gotten my point

About the importance of the now,

The past is gone; it is gone forever

And the future is not ours however much we vow.

That’s why promises are just what they are,

They are simply utterances that we vow

And if ever we make good on their delivery

That can only be done when that time is now

Nothing in the past changes anything now,

The past does not have that power,

Neither does the future, whatever we may think,

The ultimate reality is the present hour.

The Bible makes this point particularly clear

The address is 2Corinthians 6 and verse 2,

Before continuing go to that location now

And see what it says to me and to you.

The emphasis is now; it is mentioned twice,

It is a matter worth contemplation,

“Now is the accepted time,” it says

“Now is the day of salvation.”

Do not take the now in this matter lightly

For it has to do with one’s destiny,

It is not a concern about the future tomorrow

But about one’s future eternally.

The truth about this matter ultimately is

That now is the present reality,

It is in the now that one must act

To procure a favourable destiny.

God is not slack concerning His promise

But in the now is long suffering to all of us,

He is not willing that any of us should perish

But that in the now accept His Son, Jesus.

Right now if you hear his voice

Harden not your heart,

Come to him right this very moment

Right now would be the best time to start.

Stewart Russell © November 2017