Real happiness can only be found right now.
Living in the moment is taking in your current environment and finding something to appreciate about it. Stay away from any distractions. Such as your phone or computer, screens in general. Also thoughts of the past or future. Basically everything that takes you out of your current life. Avoid that. Instead focus on here and now. What do you like about it? Engage as much of your senses as possible while doing this. It’s the little things that you need to notice here.
Do this for some small amount of time. At least 5 minutes of this meditation every single day and make it a habit. Commit enough to this effort and you’ll start to do it naturally, like every time you have a moment to yourself throughout the day, even if only briefly. This practice will help you eventually master the art of living in the present. I now find myself thinking of all the reasons I like things around me a near constant basis and I’ve never been happier.
Honestly? I know I just mentioned reasons for liking things, but I don’t even need a reason to like it anymore, I just do. Almost like a kid. I find things fun and exciting or delightful and amazing. I don’t even need to know or explain why, it just is. I’ve stopped having to justify or make sense of things in order to appreciate them. It’s wondrous simply because I’m taking everything in as it is, without the burden of reasoning to tell me how I should feel. I can do that because I’m living for now and not whatever else I’ve been told to live for. When I get all these influences everyday telling me about how great things were or how great they need to be… no. They’re already great. Children tend to be happy because they’re always living in the present. The part of their brain responsible for the burden of determination hasn’t developed yet. I’m trying to tell you how to return to that.
So you should practice this even if you don’t like something. Actually, especially if you don’t like it. Learning to make the most out of the least is the most valuable skill you’ll ever have. It’s how we learned to make fire, food, clothes, shelter. Seeing the potential in the world around us doesn’t stop at the physical either. Indeed it is also the key to all of life’s fulfillment including the emotional and mental. Yes, you can be resourceful with feelings too. So try it!
The next time you think something is bad, take parts of it to figure out how it can be good. Humankind’s progress didn’t stop at what we know. It was a discovery. I promise you, no matter where you’re at in life. No matter what you’re going through. All the pain and suffering you’re experiencing. I promise there is a way to be happy with everything as it is. It just takes this innovation. Working with what you have to make something new.
Take these little steps towards that goal, when you find one thing to like about where you are. It might not seem like it does much at first, but what you’re doing is making memories which are only created in the present. Memories provide meaning to our lives. Within this meaning is where you find happiness. Have enough of that and it will occur effortlessly and you’ll find yourself just enjoying things as they are. The more memories you have. The more meaning. The more meaning you have. The easier happiness becomes. It’s a whole process that takes awhile and a lot of work, but it’s worth it.
The worst thing you can do is avoid the now because you don’t like it for whatever reason. That’s when you choose and prefer some sort of addiction or escapism. Any vice or sin you can think of fits here. It doesn’t have to be that wrong though, even just wanting something fairly innocent like a fantasy you have. For example think of when you wish for your work shift to end after a long day so you can go home and start recovering.
I mean we’ve all done that, right? It seems harmless and maybe even helpful to get you through something bad. But when you fantasize about what would be ‘better’ in your mind. When you engage in those behaviors, you automatically put your happiness somewhere else, behind some sort of condition, like being able to be home, and even worse, if you somehow manage to get there? That won’t solve the problem. It might make you temporarily happy, but it won’t last. Work will be back tomorrow and if you don’t live in the present, you will dread that next day.
This ‘grass is greener on the other side’ way of thinking… Think of it like a rainbow. It’s so beautiful it’s dreamlike and there’s even a promised pot of gold if you can get to the end of it! However no matter how close you get in your pursuit, in your chase, it just moves again. You can never quite catch it. It remains extremely pleasant to look at, tempting in every way, but ultimately an illusion that is intangible. One that will always vanish given enough time. That rainbow is your happiness whenever you place it anywhere other than now.
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming and wanting to improve your life. I’d be worried if you didn’t do that. Just don’t forget to enjoy the journey along the way or you’ll never even know how good you always had it. You’ve probably heard this before, but happiness isn’t about having what you want. It’s about wanting what you have. So don’t fall for that rainbow no matter how appealing it looks. All that glitters is not gold! So happiness? Right here. Right now. Let’s start today, yesterday is already gone and tomorrow has yet to come.
One final thing… this is going to take time. I can’t stress that enough. Countless times I’ve felt like these beliefs did nothing for me, or even like they made me feel worse. Almost like taking one step forward and two steps back. That’s why you need faith. You need to believe that living in the moment is all it takes for happiness even if you have no reason to feel that way. As cheesy and cliched as this may sound, your belief is incredibly powerful. That alone is the determining factor on if you succeed or fail at the things you want.
I was diagnosed with clinical depression in high school so it took me years of dedication before I could do this with any amount of success. Even now I still have to practice everyday and am challenged often in my ability to do this. Recently I’ve been dealing with awful people at work. I had to remind myself of these lessons. So even when it fails, and it will, don’t give up. Persevere and build that discipline until it starts working. With enough effort, it will. Give to the present and it will give back, give to anywhere else and you get nothing because life simply doesn’t exist anywhere else.
Do this for some small amount of time. At least 5 minutes of this meditation every single day and make it a habit. Commit enough to this effort and you’ll start to do it naturally, like every time you have a moment to yourself throughout the day, even if only briefly. This practice will help you eventually master the art of living in the present. I now find myself thinking of all the reasons I like things around me a near constant basis and I’ve never been happier.
Honestly? I know I just mentioned reasons for liking things, but I don’t even need a reason to like it anymore, I just do. Almost like a kid. I find things fun and exciting or delightful and amazing. I don’t even need to know or explain why, it just is. I’ve stopped having to justify or make sense of things in order to appreciate them. It’s wondrous simply because I’m taking everything in as it is, without the burden of reasoning to tell me how I should feel. I can do that because I’m living for now and not whatever else I’ve been told to live for. When I get all these influences everyday telling me about how great things were or how great they need to be… no. They’re already great. Children tend to be happy because they’re always living in the present. The part of their brain responsible for the burden of determination hasn’t developed yet. I’m trying to tell you how to return to that.
So you should practice this even if you don’t like something. Actually, especially if you don’t like it. Learning to make the most out of the least is the most valuable skill you’ll ever have. It’s how we learned to make fire, food, clothes, shelter. Seeing the potential in the world around us doesn’t stop at the physical either. Indeed it is also the key to all of life’s fulfillment including the emotional and mental. Yes, you can be resourceful with feelings too. So try it!
The next time you think something is bad, take parts of it to figure out how it can be good. Humankind’s progress didn’t stop at what we know. It was a discovery. I promise you, no matter where you’re at in life. No matter what you’re going through. All the pain and suffering you’re experiencing. I promise there is a way to be happy with everything as it is. It just takes this innovation. Working with what you have to make something new.
Take these little steps towards that goal, when you find one thing to like about where you are. It might not seem like it does much at first, but what you’re doing is making memories which are only created in the present. Memories provide meaning to our lives. Within this meaning is where you find happiness. Have enough of that and it will occur effortlessly and you’ll find yourself just enjoying things as they are. The more memories you have. The more meaning. The more meaning you have. The easier happiness becomes. It’s a whole process that takes awhile and a lot of work, but it’s worth it.
The worst thing you can do is avoid the now because you don’t like it for whatever reason. That’s when you choose and prefer some sort of addiction or escapism. Any vice or sin you can think of fits here. It doesn’t have to be that wrong though, even just wanting something fairly innocent like a fantasy you have. For example think of when you wish for your work shift to end after a long day so you can go home and start recovering.
I mean we’ve all done that, right? It seems harmless and maybe even helpful to get you through something bad. But when you fantasize about what would be ‘better’ in your mind. When you engage in those behaviors, you automatically put your happiness somewhere else, behind some sort of condition, like being able to be home, and even worse, if you somehow manage to get there? That won’t solve the problem. It might make you temporarily happy, but it won’t last. Work will be back tomorrow and if you don’t live in the present, you will dread that next day.
This ‘grass is greener on the other side’ way of thinking… Think of it like a rainbow. It’s so beautiful it’s dreamlike and there’s even a promised pot of gold if you can get to the end of it! However no matter how close you get in your pursuit, in your chase, it just moves again. You can never quite catch it. It remains extremely pleasant to look at, tempting in every way, but ultimately an illusion that is intangible. One that will always vanish given enough time. That rainbow is your happiness whenever you place it anywhere other than now.
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming and wanting to improve your life. I’d be worried if you didn’t do that. Just don’t forget to enjoy the journey along the way or you’ll never even know how good you always had it. You’ve probably heard this before, but happiness isn’t about having what you want. It’s about wanting what you have. So don’t fall for that rainbow no matter how appealing it looks. All that glitters is not gold! So happiness? Right here. Right now. Let’s start today, yesterday is already gone and tomorrow has yet to come.
One final thing… this is going to take time. I can’t stress that enough. Countless times I’ve felt like these beliefs did nothing for me, or even like they made me feel worse. Almost like taking one step forward and two steps back. That’s why you need faith. You need to believe that living in the moment is all it takes for happiness even if you have no reason to feel that way. As cheesy and cliched as this may sound, your belief is incredibly powerful. That alone is the determining factor on if you succeed or fail at the things you want.
I was diagnosed with clinical depression in high school so it took me years of dedication before I could do this with any amount of success. Even now I still have to practice everyday and am challenged often in my ability to do this. Recently I’ve been dealing with awful people at work. I had to remind myself of these lessons. So even when it fails, and it will, don’t give up. Persevere and build that discipline until it starts working. With enough effort, it will. Give to the present and it will give back, give to anywhere else and you get nothing because life simply doesn’t exist anywhere else.
