Releasing ballast

Before the heart attack, I read a lot of books that stated that people should live the present instead of past or future. I understood the concept but in our daily race is difficult to forget about everything that happened and might impact our future, the image people has from us, the consequences past acts might have, and our future too: meetings, tasks, challenges, and so on. In that time, the carpe diem motto sounded like a reason for laziness to me. As we live with the confidence of the average life of 70+ years, we are worried mainly about setting everything for a better future.
After realizing that most of our worries are about things we cannot anticipate or things we can plan but we cannot guarantee, and that those worries destroy any hint of tranquility we could enjoy, in my search for internal happiness I decided to apply all that theory and cliché phrases and live the day without worrying unnecessarily. This helped me to get a more relaxed perception of things. I finally understood that many of our torturing thoughts are out of our control and we should do everything in our hands to achieve the desired result, but loose the day and night worries.
The process surprised many friends and peers who knew me as someone who had everything planned, and the idea even seemed like lack of interest in people and things. When my girlfriend argues because in some months we’ll be separated and my answer is “don’t worry, we are together right now and that’s what matters” my love for her might be at stake from her point of view, but inside, I know many things can happen in that time, and that by worrying, I cannot change what happens or I cannot extend time. I just enjoy the day with her, and when the time comes I will confront the situation. But imagine being sad for months and at the end the visa isn’t approved. That’s too much free worries, and if you add work issues, family issues, money, even holiday destination becomes a problem; you might be charged full with no reason worries.
The road to happiness is long and full of obstacles, but a lot of our main reasons for bitterness and preoccupations, come from our minds. It’s easier and better to walk that road light, free of useless weight, and thinking a lot about the future doesn’t allow us to enjoy the things and moments we have in the present. This is one of the ballast we can liberate from, throw it away and enjoy what you have in front for a change.