Living in the present sounds like it should be simple, but it isn’t. Our mind is always journeying into the past and future. If we watch our mind for even a few seconds we will see how difficult it is to actually hold still our attention. We will observe that thought is constant.
To experience the present takes effort, takes commitment and practice. It requires wanting to be here, now, rather than in regret or fantasy: these are the places we often go when not in the moment. We are reviewing what already happened, re-writing the script, and imagining what could be as we cling to ideas and stories that don’t mirror reality.
It’s a funny thing. Liberation only truly exists in the present. Revisiting the past or future may yield insight, of course, but to hang out there depletes us. To be in remorse about the past does not in any way change or alter what happened; to float away into illusion about what will be (or not) does not get us closer to our dreams and goals.
To approach living in the present as an exploration allows us to observe the ebb and flow. We pay attention to our thoughts and how they actually make us feel. We become playfully curious about the nature of the mind. When we achieve some traction – say, through movement or meditation – we begin to feel more spacious, flexible, forgiving. The burden of before and after falls away.