"We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are."
Bill Watterson
People cannot help themselves when it comes to planning. It's arguably one of the most natural characteristics of modern humans. Right when we wake up, people start planning. We start thinking about our upcoming daily activities. What are we going to have for breakfast? What time do I need to be at school? As the day progresses, we tend to start planning for more long-term events. Should I book my flight for summer vacation now to save some money? How are my grades going to be at the end of the semester?
Unfortunately, planning can adversely affect everything that we are currently doing. Thinking about what's in store in the future can take over how we express ourselves by causing us to act in a manner that doesn't reflect our current mood and situation. In doing so, the people around us can be hurt by our selfishness. For example, stressing over tomorrow's test can make us unappreciative and curt while having a family dinner. It's only fair to others that we do our best to refrain from thinking about the future.
Living in the moment gives you a fresh start, without your past baggage. If you continue to explore what that terrible person did to you or that big mistake you made, it will more likely infect the present life than help you get past the pain. It precludes your being overwhelmed. It's hard to feel intimidated when you're contemplating only your next one-second task.
In contrast, thinking of all the work ahead can dispirit you into inertia. If you're at the bottom of a steep hill and look to the top, you might be tempted to not even start up it. But if you just put one foot in front of the other, before long, you'll likely look back in pleasant surprise at how far you've climbed. Most importantly being aware of the present maximizes our pleasure. We can savor each passing moment rather rush through the day onto the next.
But no matter how hard we try, we have far from perfect control over our lives. We can think about the future and imagine how it will materialize, but we can never truly ensure that everything will work out the way we want it to. When you stop to think about it, most of us have a death grip on the past and future. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a doorway. Your one hand is clasped firmly on the left side, representing the past. Your other hand is clasped on the right side, representing the future. How are you ever supposed to walk through the door – to live in the present – if you're so strongly attached to the past and future?
You can't. That's why you must let go and live a life well lived. You can't change what's happened in the past, and only a few things in the future are under your control. So today, right now, how about we all commit to trying to be more present – to live in the moment.
There are times when living in the moment is just not possible. It's romantic, good-intentioned, yet idealistic of people to say that the only thing that's important is the present. It's simply impractical to never plan or think of the past. Thinking and reflecting on the past allows us to learn from our mistakes. Without dwelling, at least to a certain extent, about our past, we would never develop into intelligent beings. The same idea is true about planning for the future. We wish the future to be promising, and the only way to achieve that in our busy lives is to plan accordingly.
It is important to learn from the past and good to plan for the future, but these are not the most important endeavors that we must seek. It is very easy to obsess while planning, but one has to leave what is abstract to what is concrete. We cannot change what happened or anticipate what will happen, but we have complete control of now. Once we learn how to live in the present, we avoid meaningless cycles of negativity and finally find the solution to our struggles. Once we live in the moment and clear our vision, we see no use for the struggle and happiness becomes a choice.
