Despite having a very tangible physical body and perceiving the world around us with all our senses, we often live in our minds. It may be that we are remembering events from the past and how they made us feel or projecting our desires and concerns into the future, but we rarely live in the here and now, in such a way that instead of having all our attention on what we are doing or what we are doing, is happening every moment we wander distracted by our lives. Living in the here and now has many benefits and that is why we should not be surprised that philosophers, writers, poets and spiritual teachers have praised the virtues of living in the present moment. These are some of his phrases, which will help you learn to stop being distracted and focus your attention on the now:
1. Happiness is not in another place but in this place, not in another hour, but in this hour.
walt whitman
2. We are always preparing to live, but we are never living.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
3. Forever is made up of nows.
Emily Dickinson
4. Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.
John Lennon
5. Stay present in all things and grateful for all things.
Maya Angelou
6. You must live in the present, push yourself with each wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunity while looking to other territories. There is no other territory, there is no other life but this one.
Henry David Thoreau
7. Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be.
Eckhart Tolle
8. Act in the moment, live in the present, little by little don’t allow the past to interfere and you will be surprised how life is an eternal wonder, a mysterious phenomenon, a great gift, in such a way that one simply feels in constant gratitude.
Osho
9. Life is a preparation for the future and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.
Albert Einstein
10. The secret of health for mind and body lies in not regretting the past, not worrying about the future and not anticipating problems, but living seriously and wisely in the present moment.
Buddha
11. If my happiness at this moment consists mainly of revisiting happy memories and expectations, I am only vaguely aware of this present, and I will continue to be vaguely aware of the present when the good things I have been waiting for happen, because I will have formed the habit of look back and forth. Thus making it more difficult for me to attend to the here and now. So if my awareness of the future and the past makes me less aware of the present, I have to start wondering if I’m really living in the real world.
alan watts
You may also be interested in: 10 ways to practice mindfulness while you eat