Be.

All of us have to be something in life. Be a sibling. Be a parent. Be a boss. Be a student.

Often we’re told what to be; Be green. Be cultured. Be nice. Be kind rewind.

Whatever happened to just being?

This is something I have kind of always had feelings on but it can be a bit tricky. Without going too deep into existentialism or the merits of what ‘time’ is, can’t we as humans just exist in the moment?

I talk all the time about the now, not the was or the will. The now is reality. It’s tangible, flexible, and adaptable. We can control our actions and thoughts at any moment of time. There is no need for timetables, deadlines, and benchmarks. We use those things because 1) we’re lazy, and 2) society has created such.

We can do anything we want at anytime. Go back to school. Finish that book. Learn Spanish. But we put stuff off, that itself creates anxiety and resentment, but I’ll ignore that for now. We use time metrics to justify our desires and that is what I am advocating against. You know what I’m talking about.

“I’ll go on a diet tomorrow!”  – “I’ll stop drinking starting New Years!” – “I am going to write a book one day!”

As Anne Frank best said, “How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world.” Why wait if you really want to do something?

So back to my point. Most of the stresses and difficulties in life come from past negative experiences or anxiety about future events. This makes sense because the individual moment is short and quick. Time backwards and forwards is infinite in comparison to the now.

So here’s my thought, if people spent more time focusing on the present moment, they’ll be happier. Here’s what I do to refocus on the now.

• Close your eyes. Without visual perception, your outlook will ironically become clearer. You become more aware of your surroundings and find a peace within yourself from acceptance of your environment.
• Listen to your heart beat. This is best done alone but sometimes I listen and feel my pulse and marvel at how amazing the human body is. This easy task humbles anyone into realizing we are here in the moment living.
• Not to be spiritual but consider zazen. It is a meditation-like zen buddhist practice that means “opening the hand of thought”.
• Consider a more minimalist lifestyle. If the recession has taught us anything, it is that Americans have lived in such extreme excess for so long it caught up to us. We have so much crap around our lives that doesn’t bring any joy. Smaller is better and decluttering limits sensory overload, which will result in the calming of the mind.

As Owen Wilson’s Hansel character says in Zoolander, “I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I’m selling? No. Do I know what I’m doing today? No. But I’m here, and I’m gonna give it my best shot.”

So without being preachy, try to focus on the now more often and work on letting go of the was or the will.

Just “Be”. I think you’ll like the idea.