“A great canyon began as a tiny cleft. A great master was born a small babe; be happy in your place, growth is inevitable. Your start and finish are the same: The journey to enlightenment begins where you are right now.”

—Haven Trevino

These are challenging times, and if we don’t keep things in perspective it’s easy to allow the issues of the present moment to overwhelm us.

By now, most of my readers know I am not a proponent of living in either the past or the future because we have no power there, but as a mindfulness practice I would like to invite you to do so just for just a few minutes.

Do this visualization with me: Irrespective of what may be going on in your life today, go back in your mind’s eye to the year 2000.

Get in touch with where you were spiritually and emotionally 10 years ago and imagine that you could send yourself back to that space in time, taking with you what you now know to be true about you and your life today.

Just take a few minutes to realize how far you have come. Think about how much you’ve grown. In other words, consider how much you have evolved in the past 10 years. Most likely the changes have been for the better.

Again, do this process, only this time set your “time machine” for 20 years ago or, if you are old enough, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. Now, imagine what wisdom you might impart to the “old you.”

If you could somehow magically do this, the likelihood is that you’d be able to circumvent some of the pain and difficulties you went through on your journey.

However, the larger question is whether you would really want to change any of your experiences on the journey, even if you could.

The reality is, whatever it is you have gone through and grown through has assisted you in becoming who you are today.

Now for the second part of this visualization. This time let’s go forward.

Regardless of what may be going on in your life today, and given your current intention to grow and evolve, imagine where you might be spiritually and emotionally in the year 2020 or even 2030.

Yes, today you may be going through something that is challenging, as many people are, but remember it is precisely those challenges that are currently offering you the growth opportunities that will assist you in becoming who you will be 10 or 20 years from now—it’s the same cycle and process that brought you from 1980 to 1990 and 2000 to 2010.

Perspective is everything. Give your challenges today the “10-year test.” Ask yourself, will this mountain that stands before me today even be a blip on my radar screen of life in 10 years. More than likely, the answer will be no.

For verification of this, just take a look back to the year 2000. How many of the trauma dramas going on then are still an issue? Now breathe and smile.

My point is that it can be quite easy to feel overwhelmed by the immensity of what may be looming directly in front of you, and that’s when it helps to remember the words of the master teacher: “This, too, shall pass.”

In those moments when you might feel most lost or isolated, imagine standing right next to the “future you” who knows the truth, smiling because he or she understands that the burdens of the moment are also the blessings that will help you become who you have come here to be.

Be at peace with what is and trust the process. Know that you are loved and supported on your amazing journey to the place you never left—your oneness with Infinite Presence.

Dennis Merritt Jones is a local spiritual mentor, keynote speaker and author of the book “The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life.” Contact him at www.DennisMerrittJones.com.