Living in the Moment

I have often heard people say that they are trying harder to ‘live in the moment’.  It seems that we have all become acutely aware that most of the time we are focused on either the past or the future rather than the present.  We suspect that it would be better for us to more fully experience the current moment of our lives rather than be distracted by thoughts of the past or future, or other daydreams.

But what does it really mean to ‘live in the moment’?  Does it imply that we must actually be thinking about or analyzing what we are doing and examining our state of mind and feelings?  Can one be ‘in the moment’ without telling oneself to be ‘in the moment’?  Can we experience something fully without our thoughts conducting a monologue about that experience?

When one is involved in a vigorous activity, such as playing a sport or practicing a musical instrument, background thoughts seem to disappear.  The more the activity requires effort and concentration, the less one is able to conduct the usual soliloquy of conscious thought.  But when one performs less demanding activities, such as listening to music or going on a hike, one often finds that significant periods of time go by without one being at all aware of the activity.  We daydream, fret about a coming event, or analyze something that happened in the past.  Instead of fully experiencing the thoughts, sensations and emotions of that activity, we are distracted and lose whatever benefit those moments might otherwise have brought.

One example is the act of eating.  I have often noticed that I will look forward to eating something but discover after I have finished that I was distracted by other thoughts or social interactions and didn’t fully savor the food.  When I focus my full attention on the act of eating, I get much more enjoyment, especially if the food is something special.  But unfortunately, this is difficult to do when one is in a social setting or watching TV.  Even eating alone, the typical thought distractions that one has may get in the way of that enjoyment.

Distractions - whether daydreams, anticipation, memories or worries - are always waiting impatiently at the doorway of our consciousness.  We have all developed a bad habit of letting them in because much of our time is spent in mundane activity that does not offer any great joy ‘in the moment’.  It requires a certain discipline and training to refocus our mind when we are doing something that merits our full attention.  But life will probably be much more satisfying if we manage to do so.