Here it is folks: the biggest piece of recycled life coachery there is. The one piece of advice that gets cycled and recycled until every last drop of wisdom is squeezed from it. It’s pure truth, and we all know it, but it eludes our grasp. As soon as you get it, it’s gone. Are you ready?
Live in the moment.
Also known as:
Be here now.
Live one day at a time.
Be mindful.
Be present.
The Life Coaches have turned this into a product, of course, and will sell you the advice to “focus” (productivity coaches) or be “mindful” (wellness coaches), but it’s all the same simple piece of advice. Oh, and it’s impossible, mostly. Which is why it’s always much-needed wisdom.
Though the conversation about how to cherish the present never ends, lately, there’s a new variation that I really like. People are taking in more magical, wondrous terms about paying attention. I support this. The now should belong to poetry, nothing else.
Here’s a great essay on it calling it “enchantment.” Here’s an artful perspective on time.
Check out this fantastic piece about romanticizing the moment. Well, it’s about more than that, but I think it fits.
Here’s a long read on how inattention — a lack of nowness — caused by social media on phones is behind the rising trend in teenage depression.
There is an entire category of study called “attention economics” about how the digital world is competing for the finite moments we have to pay attention to something. No wonder it’s so hard to stay in the moment.
That doesn’t mean it’s not good advice. But I’ve found that I simply have to accept that I suck at it and always will. But now and then, I can do it and so can you.
Free Life Coach Advice Prescription
When you look away from your screen, look at your hand. Observe the lines on your palm, the light between your fingers. Look down at your feet then just let yourself marvel at them for a moment. Then (almost done) move your gaze to something nearby and notice it as you’ve never noticed it before. Feel yourself breathing while you notice it. And then, just for kicks, think about how, in some weird way, that object exists because at some time, in some way, there was love. Ridiculous? Maybe. But try it: notice, breathe, tie it to love. Why not?
Congratulations! Just now, you lived in the now. Feels pretty good, no?
Enjoy the rest of your moments fighting to get back to the moment. It’s a moving target.
Living in the future and the past and sometimes the present, I am,
Your Free Life Coach,
Sean Sakamoto
Put your head where your feet are
Appreciate all your insight here on mindfulness, such an effective practice to adopt. And thank you for the shoutout!