The writer says the impressions left on us by past experiences have made the soul what it is. That's not true. Those impressions influence the soul but don't make it what it is. We break out of the mold of the past and the anxiety of an uncertain future by truly accepting and realizing that the past is done, the uncertainty of the future is simply how the future is, and what is real and alive is the present. For me, my accepting lack of certainty, lack of control, and lack of permanence has been freeing. For me there is nothing so horrible in my past or ominous in my future that I am aware of to override my present -- maybe someday there will be, and that I have some fear of, but I don't know and for now am content. I doubt I'll ever experience perfect tranquility -- being present and accepting the uncertainty of the future brings me the tranquility I have -- I suppose being 'perfectly' present and 'perfectly' free of fear and prediction would bring 'perfect tranquility,' and I'm definitely not there now. Yes, tranquility can co-exist with intense action to the extent that the action is present, without agenda, not future oriented, not goal-directed, and simply being done for doing it. As for transcending the weight of the past and the anxiety of the future, the extent to which I stay present does help me deal with/lessen/and sometimes even end my anxiety or worry about the future. My transcendence is temporary and imperfect when I leave the transcendent present and come back to my anxiety or worry about the future, which I certainly frequently do.
On May 13, 2012 David Doane wrote :