Time is all we have
If you really think about it, all we have in life is this moment…well it is really this moment…actually it’s this moment.
Time keeps ticking forward. We have minutes, days, and years that are now in the past. We have an unknown number of days in the future. Have you ever stopped to think about what is the most important moment of your life? If you really think about it, could it be any other moment than the current moment? Your life is this moment.
I think it is important to ask these types of questions, and I think there are a few other important questions to ponder when thinking about the current moment. Can you go back to change a moment in the past? Can you guarantee a specific moment in the future? My guess is we all agree that the answer to both of these questions is no. This means the moment that we have the most influence over, and the moment that is guaranteed, is this current moment. The only moment we truly have control over, is the current moment.
Time is the most important asset in our life. Our life is made up of a series of current moments, so the way we spend each current moment shapes our entire life. We can mostly choose what we do, how we feel, and what actions we take in each current moment of our life. Our past was determined by what we did, how we felt, and what actions we took during the string of each passing moment in our life. The rest of our life will be made up of a string of future current moments. Our future is not guaranteed, but we can greatly influence how future moments will play out in our life by how we live each current moment. Think about how empowering this is.
Most of us have a hard time living in the moment. We are often dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Being able to focus on the current moment allows us to overcome the feelings of hopelessness that come when we feel we don’t have control over our life. The benefits of taking full control over each current moment will spill over to every area of your life. Realizing that it is “me” who must take action in the current moment is extremely important. I have ownership for my life. I can influence the current moment. I can influence the potential of future moments playing out how I want them to.
Life can be unpredictable. We will all find ourselves in situations that we don’t want to be in. It can sometimes be difficult to feel like we have control over our life when things don’t go as expected. No matter what life throws at us, we still have control over how we think, feel, and act in any moment. We may not be able to make every moment good, but we can continually work to make each moment the best possible. As we do this, we can also find ways to increase the chances that our future moments will become the current moments that we really want.
Scientific studies have shown the power of focusing on the moment and using the current moment to improve your future moments. In a study done at North Carolina state University in 2020, the researchers concluded “people who manage to balance living in the moment with planning for the future are best able to weather daily stress without succumbing to negative moods.”
The importance of the current moment has also been taught in Buddhism for hundreds of years. In the sutra “Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone,” the Buddha said, “Don’t get caught in the past, because the past is gone. Don’t get upset about the future, because the future is not yet here. There is only one moment for you to be alive, and that is the present moment. Go back to the present moment and live this moment deeply, and you’ll be free.”
This concept of time and the current moment is the first building block to understand how each of us can achieve the highest amount of happiness and fulfillment in our lives. Once we accept that the current moment needs to be the critical focus of our life, we can take the next steps to improve our life. We will now explore the definition of happiness and how the choices and actions we make in each current moment will define the level of happiness and fulfillment we each achieve and maintain in this life.
