Past Future

Is it our language that gives us the tendency to let our minds freely drift towards the past and future more readily than the present?

I’m reading David Abram’s “The Spell of the Sensuous”, and he’s discussing the impact that language has on our perception of time and space.  I drift off for a moment reading this and think: how often do we speak in the present tense?

When we narrate our lives to friends, family, and ourselves, in English, we very rarely use the present tense–likely because it’s obvious to everyone there what’s happening in that moment. That this is a trick of our language is easy to overlook. Studies have shown that languages that make less distinction between present and future tenses tend to have populations that save money for the future more easily.

What does this do for us when we’re sitting with ourselves in the present moment?  How often do we find ourselves drifting upon our thoughts to the past and the future?  Could this be linguistic?  Is meditation so late in coming to English and romance language countries due to this as well?  Could be B.S., but I can’t deny that in pondering it, I realize how much mental space I give to my future plans and my past life to the point that it can feel oppressive.

I want my future to contain medical school, but that’s not here now.  My past had a plethora of painful moments that are long gone. Right now in this moment, I’m beholden to neither.  I’m simply sitting down while my daughter naps, enjoying some thoughts, ignoring chores that need to be done.