Here and Now
“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
-anonymous
The wisdom of being present is touted in almost any self-help book you can find. But, as seen in the quote above, it’s often inaccurately framed as a destination that we ought to return to and that we’re somehow capable of departing from.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Being lost in thought or wondering about the future and reminiscing about the past are excursions that we partake in the present moment.
It’s important that we resolve this misconception and acknowledge the true time and place in which we truly experience anything. Whether we’re on a stroll down memory lane or planning for some possible future, our engagement with those concepts always occurs at this moment.
Even when recalling a painful memory, it feels as if we’re summoning emotions from the past, and bringing them into wherever we are now. But the pain we feel from any memory is one that is produced because of processes that our mind undergoes now.
The difference in that kind of framing reminds us of where our states of mind and their related actions can have any meaningful impact.
What utility is there in letting your mind ruminate on some distant memory or possible future? If our goal is to reflect for the purpose of learning, then we can remind ourselves that learning, too, is a process that occurs in the present.
If you’re thinking, “Well of course I’m always in the present. Nobody actually thinks they’re time travelers,” then I encourage you to pay close attention next time your mind is wandering. Pay close attention to how vivid your thoughts and emotions are, and realize how you’re essentially reacting to things that are occurring entirely in your head.
Practice
Next time you feel like your mind is time traveling, try bringing your awareness to that feeling of being elsewhere. It could feel like you’re reliving some memory or vividly imagining something that’s yet to happen. What we want to notice is that the feeling that we’re somewhere other than here and now is just that: a feeling, and therefore, another part of our current experience.
Again, we’re not shifting from one position to another, but simply witnessing the contents of our mind with an open awareness, neither clinging nor averting.
Furthermore, it’s important to relinquish the idea of there being an end goal. The present moment is everchanging. The Buddha once said, “Anything that has the nature of arising, also has the nature of ceasing.”
One way we can properly recognize and settle into the present is by tuning into the constant arising and ceasing of our sensory experiences. Sights, sounds, smells, touch, taste, and thought, each act as ever-flowing streams of input.
We live in what is probably the loudest time in human history, so sounds might be a good place to start. Depending on where you live you might hear cars, people, machines, the ambient hum of your home appliances, wind, water, birds, and plenty more.
Sit in a comfortable, upright position, ideally in a noisy place.
Close your eyes, and notice what sound your mind is currently focused on.
Don’t direct your attention. Simply shift your awareness to your mind’s attention being captured by sounds as they pass. You might notice the sound of your AC, or a car driving by. Suddenly it switches, and now you hear someone’s voice off in the distance, or your chair creaking when you shift your weight.
Each sound arises and passes away. Neither clinging to old sounds nor anticipating new ones. Forever changing, forever here, and forever now.
Beautiful. This reminds me of a passage I recently read about a depressive man who thought he’d never get out of the hole he was in because he couldn’t possibly imagine how he would climb out of it.
He eventually did manage to climb out of that hole and upon reflection realized that the depressive train of thought that tells you “I won’t get out of this situation because I can’t picture what that would look like” is essentially like telling yourself nothing good will happen because you don’t have the precognitive ability to see the future.