"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries."

-Corita Kent

I'm a great believer in living in the now. Being present. In the moment. And if you think about the future, where many of us live, what is the future? Actually, the future is nothing more and nothing less than billions and billions of NOWs. So, there's now, and now, and now, and now, and now and now - no future, just now.

Life is a very long journey, sometimes a challenging journey. However it unfolds, life is just a succession of moments, of NOWs.

One moment is joyful, another sad, another frustrating, another benign. In fact, most of our NOWs are plain and ordinary. No highs, no lows. Just consistently ordinary.

The choice is this: Do I choose to love the moment I'm in right now, or do I choose to loathe and suffer through the moment I'm in? The former points to experiencing a life you love, cherish and enjoy; the latter points to surviving, resisting and hating your life. How you view the moment is a choice. No one is twisting your arm; no one is pointing a gun to your head. Its about you and how you choose to relate to your moments.

In essence, this moment, this NOW, is all there is. If you're one whose mantra is I'm waiting for the right time," there's a better than average chance you're experiencing some degree of pain or suffering in some way, shape or form right now.

NOW is all there is. Generally, the right time never comes and if/when it does, it's not when you expect. (Note: dreaming is fine except when you find yourself missing so many moments, so many NOWs that you're living in the future. Lots of folks like this often wonder, "Where did my life go?"; these are the folks who never truly "lived". For these folks, the future never comes and when it does, they are usually caught up in some other type of pain and suffering and waiting for another future, and another future and another future to arrive and bring their happiness.)

Now is all there is

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away".

-Anonymous

One key to happiness is to appreciate the moment and see the sacredness of each moment. Not the sacredness of religion or theology, per se, (however, that's available if you choose), but appreciating the specialness, the good and seeing what joy exists in this moment, right here and right now. There is some degree of happiness in every moment, if we choose to focus on that happiness. (Victims and martyrs hardly ever do). Living in the future negates the happiness available in the moment.

The reality is, life only happens now. Letting go of the future (and the past) allows you to bring the happiness you are into the moment, regardless of what you are doing or what is going on around you. Being in the moment, sensing into whatever element of happiness is available right here and right now (and it is, if you look for it, or allow it to arise) supports you to live this moment, and this moment, and this moment with easy and joy.

Appreciating the NOW

"The more I give myself permission to live in the moment and enjoy it without feeling guilty or judgmental about any other time, the better I feel about the quality of my work."

-Wayne Dyer

Living in the NOW and appreciating the NOW is not all that easy. Appreciating the NOW is about cherishing who you are, what you have, recognizing how good things are, and choosing to not focus on who you aren't or what you don't have. Appreciating the NOW is about allowing the ordinary. Its about finding the inner peace within, right here and right now, just where you are - at your desk, on the elevator, commuting, doing the dishes, watching TV...reading this piece...

Appreciating the NOW means surrendering any discomfort, upset, negative emotion and feeling. When you can do that, and choose to do that, then a sense of appreciation, positivity, OK-ness will come in to fill the void in this NOW, and this NOW and this NOW.

Rather than waiting for quantum events to happen, appreciate the ordinary. Experience the happiness of a Wednesday signaling the middle of the week, or being at home on Friday night watching a movie or a sporting event or stopping for your favorite cup of coffee.

As you choose to live in the moment, focus on the ordinary - the sights, the sounds, the colors, shapes or textures, the tastes and aromas, the space in which everything exists, or the space between objects. That's presence. That's the state where we can become immersed in what is happening NOW, and NOW and NOW.

Finally, living in the moment means focusing your mind on what is good, just and right with your life and with the world, right here and right NOW, and NOW, and NOW and NOW. Soon, you'll be able to see life in a positive light, even in the ordinary moments, and this new way of being will become second nature.

Allowing yourself to look for and appreciate what is here NOW and what is happening in this moment, and this moment, and this moment you'll begin to notice that your mind relaxes and embraces the moment with greater ease.

The moment is about living your life NOW, not tomorrow, and certainly not yesterday.

"If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves. "

-Maria Edgeworth,

So, some questions for self-reflection are:

"The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness. "

-Abraham Maslow

· What one day or "right time" are you dreaming about or wishing for? Are you one who is consistently waiting for some other time to be happy? How is this strategy working for you?

· How do you experience newness in your life?

· How do you feel about your life in this moment?

· Do you run on a treadmill of unhappiness? If so, why?

· What are you attached to? (e.g., money, possessions, etc.)

· What's holding you back from experiencing happiness?

· When are you most alive?

· How does fear constrict you?

· Do you spend an inordinate amount of time fantasizing?

· Do you live much of your life in the past or in the future? If so, why?

· Do you spend a lot of time catastrophizing - worrying about something that hasn't happened yet and might not happen at all, or ruminating - thinking bleakly about events in the past?

· Can you imagine yourself living in the moment, in the NOW?

"I always wanted a happy ending... Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."

-Gilda Radner

---ABOUT THE AUTHOR---

Peter Vajda, Ph.D, C.P.C. is a founding partner of SpiritHeart, an Atlanta-based company that supports conscious living through coaching and counseling. With a practice based on the dynamic intersection of mind, body, emotion and spirit, Peter's 'whole person' coaching approach supports deep and sustainable change and transformation.

Peter facilitates and guides leaders and managers, individuals in their personal and work life, partners and couples, groups and teams to move to new levels of self-awareness, enhancing their ability to show up authentically and with a heightened sense of well be-ing, inner harmony and interpersonal effectiveness as they live their lives at work, at home, at play and in relationship.

Peter is a professional speaker and published author. For more information: http://www.spiritheart.net