Live Fully in the Present

Alan Watts once said

For unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatever in making plans for a future which you will never be able to enjoy. When your plans mature, you will still be living for some other future beyond. You will never, never be able to sit back with full contentment and say, “Now, I’ve arrived!” Your entire education has deprived you of this capacity because it was preparing you for the future, instead of showing you how to be alive now.

I love this quote because it echos the teaching of the Buddha, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Lao Tzu, and many others. Living life in the present moment is the only moment we have. There is no way around this simple truth.

Watch this video to get a sense of why we fail to experience life in the here and in the now.

So instead of going after what is missing in your life, why not sit down, take a few deep breaths and be grateful for the life that you have? Remember, “There is no present like the time -” this time, this now, not the future, not the past, just now!

What was your experience watching the video? Are you planning for the future or are you living life in the present moment?

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Become What You Are by Alan W. Watts “Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal. For the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever. . . . You may believe yourself out of harmony with life and its eternal Now; but you cannot be, for you … [Read More…]