Being a devoted lover of wildlife, in particular, the great wild cats of the African plane, I am an ardent student of their natures. My particular favorite is the cheetah. This cat is to my mind the most beautiful and elegant of the great cats. His speed is breathtaking, and despite the carnage that results after he stalks and then slaughters his prey, I love to watch him crouch and then go into a full gallop as he chases a Tommy Gazelle across the African plane. I could spend hours watching this desparate and beautiful battle for survival and have done many times as the Animal Channel permits me to do sometimes on Sunday mornings.
The beauty of the cheetah is his predatory nature. I admire the way such a predator regards his prey as the essential element in his survival. As wildlife experts so often point out, cheetahs (like all great predators) have no long-term memory with respect to their failures as hunters. The cheetah knows that he is just as likely to fail as to succeed when he sets out to kill a Tommy. He always bets on winning. He never gives only half to the hunt and kill. He always gives all and chances are good he will succeed in killing his prey. But, if the cheetah did spend all his time mourning over that day when he failed to kill the Tommy, he would never eat again, and he would die. He knows this. His survival depends on his ability to focus on the now.
How unfortunate that we as humans cannot learn the great lesson of the cheetah. Instead of forgetting about our failures in our lives, we tend to focus always on what we didn't succeed at. What if your very life depended on your ability to stay in the now? What if you would never survive with any joy or pleasure if you thought at all about your past mistakes?
We may not have to look at things in this extreme a fashion, but perhaps it would do us all good to consider the wisdom of the east in the matter of survival. If you believe (and I certainly do) that tomorrow is not guaranteed and that right now, this instant, is the best and most beautiful thing we can aspire to, then won't we be happier and less anxious, indeed, less tragic, if we live for this moment and not always be planning for tomorrow or yesterday?
Forget about regret, my friends. It is useless. Think instead of yourself as a beautiful, fast, fearless cheetah. Now is your moment, not yesterday or tomorrow, but right now. Run. Live. Love. And enjoy it with all your heart now. I virtually guarantee you will be happier if you live each moment this way.
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| Cheetah--Fastest Land-Roaming Mammal |
The beauty of the cheetah is his predatory nature. I admire the way such a predator regards his prey as the essential element in his survival. As wildlife experts so often point out, cheetahs (like all great predators) have no long-term memory with respect to their failures as hunters. The cheetah knows that he is just as likely to fail as to succeed when he sets out to kill a Tommy. He always bets on winning. He never gives only half to the hunt and kill. He always gives all and chances are good he will succeed in killing his prey. But, if the cheetah did spend all his time mourning over that day when he failed to kill the Tommy, he would never eat again, and he would die. He knows this. His survival depends on his ability to focus on the now.
How unfortunate that we as humans cannot learn the great lesson of the cheetah. Instead of forgetting about our failures in our lives, we tend to focus always on what we didn't succeed at. What if your very life depended on your ability to stay in the now? What if you would never survive with any joy or pleasure if you thought at all about your past mistakes?
We may not have to look at things in this extreme a fashion, but perhaps it would do us all good to consider the wisdom of the east in the matter of survival. If you believe (and I certainly do) that tomorrow is not guaranteed and that right now, this instant, is the best and most beautiful thing we can aspire to, then won't we be happier and less anxious, indeed, less tragic, if we live for this moment and not always be planning for tomorrow or yesterday?
Forget about regret, my friends. It is useless. Think instead of yourself as a beautiful, fast, fearless cheetah. Now is your moment, not yesterday or tomorrow, but right now. Run. Live. Love. And enjoy it with all your heart now. I virtually guarantee you will be happier if you live each moment this way.
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