 When I try to be focused on living in the present and accepting it as the will of God for me, as saints such as St. Thomas More have counseled, I find I need to direct a good share of my attention to stay focused on what's right in front of me. I'm so easily distracted by thoughts of the past and of the future. And it's not that those thoughts are inherently evil. I mean, to a degree, we must think about the past when, for instance, we do an examination of conscience.