The Hindu Business Line : Living in the now

Living in the now, the present, is perhaps the most rewarding gift one can receive. Once there was a young girl who asked her father “I want to be happy, can you give me the present?” The father replied “I would like to, but I do not have such power. No one can gift you the present. The present is a gift you gift to yourself. Only you have the power to give it.”

What does it mean to live in the present? In simple language it means living in the moment, without the disturbing noise of the past or the clutter of the future invading one’s thinking. When one attempts to live in the present he or she is responding to one’s feelings. When one lives in the past or the future, thinking becomes dominant. Therefore, in living in the present, the now, one has to contend with less demand on oneself, less pressure to cope with, thus experiencing the joy of immediacy and a sense of freedom and liberation. Living in the now, the present, also allows for choice as I am neither a victim of past experiences that limit my options nor am I persecuted with the anxiety of an unknown future.

Letting go of the past

In management parlance a term often employed is ‘zero based’. Succinctly it means starting afresh; without baggage or burden.

Two monks, an older and younger man were once walking down a road. They chanced on a pretty lady who was attempting to cross a puddle but could not owing to her tight-fitting clothes. The senior monk carried her over the puddle and put her down. The monks continued their journey and for over an hour the young monk did not speak to his senior. An hour later the young monk admonished the elder monk chastising him for having carried a woman. The elder monk replied, “I dropped her one hour ago but you still seem to be carrying her.” The burden of the past had trapped the young monk.

My friend Babu, the other day on a trip to the temple town Tiruvannamalai, exclaimed suddenly “It is so beautiful here! I want to come back here some day!” It took all my persuasive powers to convince him that he was already here. When you live in the moment, the desire of the future does not weigh you down.

Staying in the present

To stay in the present moment requires dedicated one pointed focus. The present is not the past and it is not the future. The present is the present moment, it is now. Being in the present means focusing on what is happening right now. It means appreciating the gifts that you are offered every day. So being in the present means focusing on what is, right now. It also means focusing on what is right now.

Even in the most difficult situations when you focus on what is right in the present moment it makes you happier and gives you the needed confidence to deal with what is wrong. When I am in a bad situation, I usually focus on what is wrong. The more you look at what is wrong the less energy and confidence you have. The more you appreciate what is right in the moment, the more relaxed you become and it is easier then to stay in the present.

New approaches to personal growth put more emphasis on the present than on the past or the future. Only the present exists now. Though it seems obvious we seem far from recognising the implications of this truth. The result is the truncation of life that we call neurotic living. This neuroticism is the direct result of unwilling to live in the present. Living in the present has the potential to be a satisfying growing experience, one that flows naturally from moment to moment without constraint. Claiming that potential is the very personal task of each of us, a task to be taken up in the present moment. The more we succeed at this task, the more fully human we become.

(The author is an organisational and behavioural consultant. He can be contacted at ttsrinath@vsnl.net)

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