When was the last time you were truly, 100% here? Not planning dinner while driving, not rehashing an argument while in the shower, but actually inhabiting the moment you were in? It’s harder than it sounds. Sam Harris, the neuroscientist and philosopher, hit the nail on the head with a statement that is as terrifying as it is liberating: “The present is the only time that any of us have to be alive—to know the self, to be with others.” It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But if we really unpack this, it exposes a glitch in the human operating system. We spend the vast majority of our mental energy inhabiting two places that do not exist: the past and the future.
We treat the present moment like it’s just a waiting room, a inconvenient bridge we have to cross to get to the “good stuff” in the future, or we view it through the dusty lens of the past. But Harris is reminding us that the past is just a memory trace in the brain, and the future is just a simulation we are running. neither of them are real. The only place where you can actually kiss your spouse, taste your coffee, or feel the sun on your skin is right now. If you are constantly thinking about the next moment, you are effectively missing your entire life. It’s like watching a movie but spending the whole time reading the reviews for the sequel. You’re in the theater, but you aren’t seeing the film.
This quote also touches on connection. “To be with others.” How many times have you been physically in a room with someone but mentally miles away? True connection requires presence. You cannot deeply know someone if you are distracted by your own internal monologue. Realizing that the present is the only time we have creates a sense of urgency, but a calm kind of urgency. It makes the mundane beautiful. Washing the dishes isn’t a chore to rush through; it’s the sensation of warm water and the sound of the tap. It invites us to stop sleepwalking through our days. It challenges us to wake up to the reality that this breath, right here, is the only one we are guaranteed. It’s a call to stop deferring our happiness to a future date that may never arrive.
So, I’m curious—what is one distraction you find hardest to turn off when you are trying to enjoy the moment? Is it the phone, the work stress, or just the chatter in your own head? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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