There is a simple truth, often alluded to in Buddhist
articles and teachings, that states the past is only memories of things already
gone by; the future is only dreams and illusions of things that may never
happen and that the present moment is all we can ever really possess. What
always follows from that is the dictum that we should “live in the moment.”
Meditating on this concept, it has occurred to me that far from being a an
aphorism posted on Facebook, written in flowery script superimposed over a
field of flowers, this simple statement can be an important key to living a
full and compassionate life.
Living in the moment is really about awareness, about being truly
present during each experience, as that experience is occurring. When we are
able to do this, we are fully involved in our lives, fully able to appreciate
the extraordinariness of being alive, with all of the joy and, yes, pain, that
entails. On a very practical basis, living in the moment enables us to reveal
who we have become or are becoming in each decision we make and every time we
speak. It erases the need for excuses; we can’t fall back on, “I didn’t know
what I was doing” or “ I didn’t mean to say that.” What we choose to do and
what we choose to say is a decision that we are aware of making. Of course,
since we are human, and therefore flawed, we will both say and do things that
we may think better of later. We may end up regretting the consequences of a
particular decision, but we can’t regret the decision itself; we knew what we
were doing.
Now, what I just said seems to lay a lot of weight on us.
Why would we want this? The positive side of this equation is that awareness of
the present moment allows us to make the compassionate decision each time the
opportunity presents itself. It allows us to act or speak when we need to, in
the moment it is needed, to bring good karma into the world. It allows us, nay,
forces us, to stop to appreciate the beauty of a sunset or a cloud-filled sky,
or a piece of music, or the joy of being with a loved one, because awareness of
the moment also means awareness that the moment passes. When we are aware of
the impermanence of each moment, we appreciate being present for the
experience.
Living in the moment allows us to realize those times when
someone needs our support and to make it a priority. We realize that a
particular conversation we are having, or time we are spending may be important
or necessary to someone and lets us put aside other matters of lesser
consequence. It helps us to realize that simply greeting those people who are
often invisible (store clerks, fast food workers, mail carriers, disabled
people, etc.) takes only the moment of contact and yet can have a positive
effect on them (and us) for the rest of the day.
Finally, it allows us to attend to those things, big and
little, that need to be taken care of at the time they need to be handled.
Rather than putting things off, and sometimes forgetting them, dealing with
them in the moment confers an order on our lives that helps things to run more
smoothly and lessens stress from day to day.
So as you go through each day, take a moment…it’s what your
life is made up of…and it’s all you really have anyway.
Namaste.
