self-imposed suffering

If we live in the moment, we are not in time. 

If you think, "I'm a retired person. I've retired from my role,"

 you are looking back at your life. It's retrospective; it's life in the rear-view mirror.

 If you're young, you might be thinking, "I have my whole life ahead of me. 

This is what I'll do later." That kind of thinking is called time-binding.

 It causes us to focus on the past or the future 

and to worry about what comes next.

Getting caught up in memories of the past or worrying about the future

 is a form of self-imposed suffering. Either retirement or youth 

can be seen as moving on, time for something different, something new.

 Aging is not a culmination. Youth isn't preparation for later.

 This isn't the end of the line or the beginning.

Now isn't a time to look back or plan ahead. 

It's time to just be present. The present is timeless. 

Being in the moment, just being here with what is,

 is ageless and eternal.

 

 

 

~ Ram Dass