Ep 440: Now is the Only Time There Really is

The other day, I was preparing a cup of tea and I realized what a great opportunity it was to recognize and explain the present moment. As I poured the cup of boiling water into the cup, carefully tore open the wrapper for the teabag, and set it to steep, this was all happening now, in the present moment. Then, about 10-15 minutes later, I came back to this cup that was at this point filled with delicious tea, and I took the first sip. This also happened ‘now’ in the present moment. But what happened in between? Of course, I didn’t just sit there and stare at this cup until it was time to drink! I may have tidied up around the house. Or maybe I had a little chat with one of my kids. Or perhaps I even went outside to check the mail. Whatever it was that I did while my tea was steeping, the important question is ‘Where was my mind during this time?’ Quite often, we might get the impression that now somehow stopped being now. But no matter how it can feel this way, it is never true! We don’t feel ‘now’ become ‘then’ and we don’t feel ‘then’ become ‘now’, because, as I illustrate in today’s episode, the only real time is ‘now’. Then is always a construct of our memory or our imagination. And dwelling in this construct is where we run into trouble and wind up in the stress response! But attending to the present moment keeps us grounded and opens us up to spontaneous happiness! As I like to say, in the present moment, we can Be Happy For No Reason! How would your life change if you were spontaneously happy for no reason at all?