Today isn’t called the “present” for nothing. The present moment is a gift that we must all receive and cherish with gratitude in our hearts. We only live once, as the saying goes, so the best time to live our lives to the fullest is today, at this particular point in time.
Roy T. Bennett, the author of The Light in the Heart, once said that “If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.”
Unfortunately, not everyone has the same perspective about the present moment. Sometimes, we fail to see the importance of living in the present because we waste so much of our energy thinking about the past or the future. Some of us wish to bring back the pleasures of the old days while others can’t wait to see what the future brings. Inversely, some people dwell in the sorrows of the past while others are fearful of what lies ahead. Either way, we wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy our existing reality if we keep on looking back and forth, instead of focusing on “the here and now”.
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Does living in the present truly make us happy? I believe so, and here are a few good reasons why.
We make each moment count
Living in the present allows us to be more appreciative of what life has to offer. Each moment counts, no matter what circumstances we are in today. Even if we are facing some difficulties, we can choose to stay positive and do the best we can to make the present moment worth living.
In other words, if today is a tough day, consider the challenge as an opportunity to grow and learn something new, instead of seeing it as a burden. Be mindful of today’s blessings and turn negativity into positivity so we can live in the present with peace, joy, and contentment in our hearts.
The past has no hold on us
If we allow the past to keep haunting us, we can never be happy in the present. We can never turn back time to rectify our old mistakes or to relive the past as though it’s the only thing that can bring us happiness. The past is nothing more than a point in our lives that no longer exists, so we can no longer do anything about it.
Although we can always look back on the good memories as inspiration and the bad memories as lessons, we should not allow the past to keep us from living in the moment. Instead of using our time and energy thinking about the things that were done and over with, we should use them to make our current situation better.
The future will have its own worries
We don’t know what the future holds, so instead of worrying about tomorrow, we should live today as if it were our last. This is not to say that we should live mindlessly, without any regard for our future life. We also need to prepare for the future, but the present moment should be our primary focus.
Rather than waiting for the future, we should savor every good thing that’s happening in our lives right now. If we start living with purpose today, we can surely make our future brighter and happier.
Final Thoughts
To achieve happiness, we must choose to live in the moment without regretting our past or worrying about an uncertain future. The present moment is all we ever have and to live it meaningfully and consciously is one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves.
