“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
– Lao Tzu
I recently heard this quote at it really resonated with me. Despite being a neuroscientist, I had a pretty hazy understanding of the distinction between the 2 terms, but this makes perfect sense. It also made me think of a quote from a Russian song by Oleg Anofriyev:
“There is only a moment between the past and the future. And that moment is called life.”
– Oleg Anofriyev
So many of us live in the past. We reminisce about what life used to be and feel sorry for ourselves that those golden days are gone.
At other times we think “I will be happy when…”. When I get a boyfriend, when I get married, when I get a job, when I live in a nice house, when I have time for my hobbies…
But in between all of this, life just passes us by. We miss that MOMENT between the past and the future. But that is the only time that we can actually feel like we are alive.
While initially I meant to put a different meaning into my 2018 work “Hope” (you can read more about it here), I like the new interpretation. The moment the sand passes between the top and the bottom compartments of the hourglass is what we can call LIFE.
Hope, 2018
3-dimensional bead work inside of an hourglass. Wooden frame. Height 12″, Width 7″
$500.00
Do you have any other potential interpretations of this piece? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
Art is my emotional outlet and my oasis. I use art to express my feelings and work through life issues. Come join me on this journey of letting go of control and letting the creative process take over. You will get access to all of the behind the scenes footage and see the major breakthroughs that translate into new artwork.
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If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
– Lao Tzu
How does this quote relate to PTSD
it is trauma from the past that feels like it is alive
22 vets commit suicide everyday from past trauma
The past three years
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I think PTSD applies to the first half. I don’t think this quote was ever meant to undermine how people process their trauma.
Personally, despite working in neuroscience, for a long time I could not tell if I have anxiety or depression. This quote helped me look at the type of repetitive thoughts I have and how to address them.
Also, how do you distinguish if you are living in the past and keep re-experiencing the trauma vs. someone who had a great past and misses it dearly after it’s gone. How would you refer to their state in the second scenario?
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Well if I feel like a
Kid I know my trauma is active and dissociation is running
PTSD is different than normal
Life
I was severely abused by my father so my brain developed in survival
Mode
Safety creativity and attachment were all not present
So if you are a normal
Person you would have no idea what my day to day life was like
And that is a very good thing
My life is a moment to
Moment awareness battle
I win some and lose some
PTSD brings intrusive thoughts and cortisol when it wants
Trust is damn near impossible for
Me
Also, how do you distinguish if you are living in the past and keep re-experiencing the trauma vs. someone who had a great past and misses it dearly after it’s gone. How would you refer to their state in the second scenario?
I would refer to that state as more neutral
The Trick is happiness is only in one time zone now
Many people hold on to the last great
Memories and lose now
For us abused kids memories are not good but many horrific
We do not experience the second scenario much
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I am really sorry to hear about what happened to you Marty. Do you find that blogging helps you to express and process your feelings? It is certainly a creative thing to do.
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Good discussion
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Oh I ran a mindfulness group for nami and I have a mindfulness ptsd blog
I have improved a lot healing is hard to define
I meditated five years straight for five hours a day.
My fight or flight stopped firing then my triggers started to subside
A repressed memory exploded recently
So trauma activated again
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