When I was a teenager, I would get really frustrated with around-the-bend thinking that permeated our home. “It’ll be better when…” we move out of this apartment, when the debts are paid, when I lose weight, etc. Milestones met only meant new bends up ahead.
I’d like to make a distinction between having goals for the future and around-the-bend thinking. A goal for the future might be getting specific training to do more specialized work in order to have a higher income and maybe a little less stress around bill-paying. Around-the-bend thinking is believing the new job that pays better due to the acquired skillset suddenly means all problems will disappear and happiness will reign forever and ever amen. I’m an absolute believer in setting goals and tackling them. I have no illusions that they will make me any happier, more peaceful or grateful than I am in this moment. Many of my greatest experiences, relationships built, joy nuggets discovered occurred in the interstitial spaces between goals.
I grew up in a faith with a very strong eschatological tradition. Really bad things will come right before the really good thing, in laymens terms. More specifically the time of trouble is the opening act before judgment and then (hopefully) heaven. The around-the-bend thinking is baked in. But there are a couple of things that I can’t help but consider. We are here now. Here. Now. This is our scope of influence. This time. This place.
Once, when I was much younger, I approached my Dad about this topic with a lot of fear and panic because the fear was baked in too. What did he think about the end days, the time of trouble, the last act of humanity on this planet? In his gentle wisdom he said, “Bec, we don’t know when our end of days is. It could be tomorrow, by a bus.” I’ve reflected on that a lot especially as I watch fires and wars, heck even pestilence occur. I have watched too many people I love have their end of days. I’m not trying to undermine anyone else’s faith. I’m still hammering mine out, that’s for sure. For me, for now, it is navigating this space and time with gratitude and a clear eye of what is. Around this bend, guess what, there’s another bend. But dang, the blue herons here are beautiful. The Queen Anne’s lace reminds me of my mama. And I’m happy to be.here.now.
Feryl Files 
I am constitutionally a present moment person (so much so that Mike has to remind me to carry an umbrella when we know it’s going to rain later). That doesn’t mean that I don’t ever think around the bend – especially about how much “better” things will be when I lose 20 pounds. But it’s easy for me to settle into the now with something like contentment. I know that’s a bit of a superpower – I try not to take it lightly!
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