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There are two days that we should not worry about. The first day is yesterday that has passed beyond our control. The second one is yesterday with all it's possible adversities, it's burdens, it's sorrows and it's chances. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. A man can fight the battle of just one day but if he adds the battle of tomorrow to his schedule he is very likely to break down. Worrying about tomorrow can never empty tomorrow of it's sorrow but can empty today of it's strength. "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of it's own. Today's trouble is enough for today". This is one of the most unwelcome admonitions in the scripture. People think that they should plan their future. Is this planning necessary?

Worry is a mental stress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated. This is the definition of worry according to Webster. People only worry about the future and about things they cannot control. This worrying occurs due to the want to control our lives. People sometimes worry about their families who live far away. This is because of their want to control other lives. People do not want to let fate decide their lives. A woman I know told me that her husband had a heart attack and that she is worried about that heart attack. I do not believe this is true. If she is worried about her husband's health that must be about her husband's future health. She must be worried about another heart attack that may happen in the future. She might be thinking about what will happen if her husband dies. If we analyse her worries we will see that most of her worries are non-existent ones. Thus most of the situations that people worry about are imaginary ones. Does this worrying seem useful?

Now, one may ask what will happen if we try not to plan our tomorrow. My answer is simple. Nothing whatsoever will happen to our detriment if we do not worry about our tomorrow. That is because we do not know about our tomorrow. People's lives get destroyed due to hurricanes, tidal waves, earthquakes and floods. Is that because these people did not worry enough? No one will say that because everyone accepts that natural disasters are beyond our control. Why should we worry about our tomorrow which is beyond our control as well. If we live in the moment we will be happy today. We should do the things that belong to one particular day within that day itself. We do not have to plan our work for tomorrow because one day's work is simply hard enough.

Do we get something from thinking about our future? Worrying about tomorrow will surely darken your present. When planning our tomorrow we are likely to make a lot of plans which are unnecessary. For instance imagine that you have a blood cancer and that you are likely to die within a month. What will happen if you bring home a coffin as a step suggested in your master plan for your future? What will your relatives say and do? Sometimes people plan too much for their future. To think about tomorrow it takes time. That time is precious for today. We should try to take that time to finish the work of today.

Worrying is a self talk and is possible to avoid. A person can easily understand when this self talk starts. At that time that person should shout into his mind and say "stop". This sounds stupid but it is effective. We can stop our worrying and can use that time to do something productive. We must control our thoughts about tomorrow and it will be beneficial.

So should we live in the moment or should we plan our tomorrow? It is yours to decide.

Learn more about this author, Piyumal Wijeratne.
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