Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

I've been thinking about faith lately - not as some gamble or bet on being right, but as Joanna Russ describes it: an intentional leap so far into the future that you break free from time's constraints and touch something timeless.

I'm fascinated by people who've mastered living in the present. They don't waste energy worrying about tomorrow or regretting yesterday. There's that saying: "Two days I can't do anything about - yesterday and tomorrow."

I catch myself doing this all the time - imagining alternative histories or future scenarios. What if  Robert Clive had died as a child? Where would I go if I had a time machine? But I'm realizing these mental gymnastics can be a trap. The past and future are, in many ways, just constructs of our imagination. The only true reality is this moment right now. Yes, past events shaped my present, and yes, today's choices will influence my tomorrow - but neither yesterday nor tomorrow are within my reach. Only now is.

What's struck me recently is the paradox that people with strong faith often seem most capable of fully inhabiting the present moment. Their faith isn't about escaping reality but embracing it more deeply. They demonstrate a reverence for the present - a care for the quality of each moment that reflects a deeper faith in life itself.

This kind of faith whispers a profound truth: the present is precious because it's all we truly have.

I'm trying to learn this way of being - to swim in the present moment with both reverence and fearlessness, supported by the sustaining waters of life itself.