Despite what we have been taught and made to believe, our lives our created from our futures: not our pasts. It's as though what our parents did to us as children does not impact our lives as much as what the future holds for us: the future holds the seeds for our lives.

The psychological world that Freud originated taught us that our neuroses are caused by our past; hidden memories or traumas inflicted upon us in childhood are the origins of our present-day mental problems. Those events or experiences are the causes of today’s symptoms. Unmasking the root of those symptoms will reveal childhood traumas, according to Freud’s theory.

What if this theory is, in a way, true, but turns our attention away from the real source of our ills in life? What if the Biblical story of Lot has more relevance than any of Freud’s theories in depicting the cause and effect relationship of our life in this moment?

The part of the story of Lot that concerns us in this moment deals with his wife as the family was leaving town, moving forward at the urgency of the Lord. Lot was told in very specific terms that neither he nor his family members should look back as they left the city; the events occurring behind them were not for their eyes. Well, the first thing his wife did was turn back as she heard the cries coming from the city, and in doing so, was turned to stone. Lot kept on going.

And such is the truth behind our beings: it is not the past that is our concern, but our future. The future holds the keys to everything in our lives. The future is where our dreams originate; not the past. The racecar driver might occasionally catch glimpses of those behind him as he’s making the 500-mile journey to the finish line, but it is the road ahead that captures his full attention. To keep his focus on the road behind him would spell sure death!

Through the work of modern day science and technology, we have been made to believe that the past is the source of our present moment. Because of what we did yesterday is the reason why we are standing in this moment in time. That is the scientific view of the “reality” of our lives.

What if this was the case, instead: in spite of yesterday, we are standing in this present moment of time. Because of tomorrow, we are in this moment. Our lives our directed from the future, not the past. It is as though our future selves have cast a rope back to us, urging us to grab hold and move forward. We spend most of our lives either dropping the rope, or refusing to grab hold of it!

There was a series of movies in the 1980’s called Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox. These films reflected the idea of the future always being changeable based on decisions we made in this moment. The movies were quite popular, and fun.

What if the present were flexible based on decisions already made in the future; as if time was non-linear and our present moment were a reflection of something that had already occurred in the future? Pretty heady stuff, huh?

Perhaps some version of this was true. Perhaps our world today was a result of decisions made that we are just now living. Perhaps we are experiencing the results of events we’ve already lived. Perhaps our lives—our seemingly concrete, assured, very conscious moments of existence—are simply the outgrowths of moments that are being handed back to us from the future!