now2

Our latest moment is always
our supreme moment.

Samuel Butler

People who are “being” are fully present. They are totally engaged in the moment.
This engagement includes an easy appreciation and sense of connection with
whomever or whatever they are relating to at the time. These people are aware
of a job well done or a difficulty surmounted and will respect and often acknowledge
the person who has accomplished it. “Being” is a state of heart and mind
that is receptive and able to listen carefully.

Sallirae Henderson

The present moment is always full of infinite treasure. It contains far more than you can possibly grasp. Faith is the measure of its riches: what you find in the present moment is according to the measure of your faith.
Love also is the measure: the more the heart loves, the more it rejoices in what God provides. The will of God presents itself at each moment like an immense ocean that the desire of your heart cannot empty; yet you will drink from that ocean according to your faith and love.

Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Above all, we cannot afford not to live in the present. They are blessed over all mortals who lose no moment of the passing life in remembering the past.

Henry David Thoreau

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.

Thomas Carlyle

To live with God is to live always in the present,
with him who is the eternal Now.

John A.T. Robinson

I realized that living in the present is not an idea.
It’s reality. It’s like taking one step at a time.
Sounds good. Good philosophy, right? Then it occurred
to me, Have you ever taken two steps at a time? We can’t.
It’s as simple as that: we can’t.
It’s the same with living in the present. Our thoughts
may wander to the past or the future. Yet, our thoughts
are just thoughts. Our bodies are in the present. We are
in the present. That’s just the way it is.

Anne Wilson Schaef

Step into this moment, because it is the only one you have right now. It is not
wasted or thrown away. The divine opportunity could be stolen unless you tell
yourself it is here right now; available to you this moment, to make of it anything
you choose. Why not choose this moment, right now, to be available to
yourself by declaring, I AM GOOD! . . . . The richness of the present is here.
The fullness of now is present. If you are not here now, it means you could be
missing the love, joy, peace and brand-new ideas that are here right now.

Iyanla Vanzant

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

Maria Edgeworth

If we know that we are now at the point where we have always
wanted to be, we will be there. . . because we are never
there but always here, now!

Paul Twitchell

The present is passed over in the race for the future;
the here is neglected in favor of the there.
Enjoy the moment, even if it means
merely a walk in the country.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future,
but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present
moment is a major component of mental wellness.

Abraham Maslow

Live in the present.
Do the things that need to be done.
Do all the good you can each day.
The future will unfold.

Peace Pilgrim

We are within a mystery, a dream of the moment, and the
epitome of life is to live ever present within it. Our past
illusions and fantasies are not relative to the present moment.
Here and now is where all the mystery lies hidden.

unattributed

Don't think about the future. Just be here now. Don't think about the past. Just be here now.

Ram Dass

Every moment is a golden one to those who have the visions to recognize it as such.

Henry Miller

Hold every moment sacred. Give each clarity and meaning, each the weight of your awareness, each its true and due fulfillment.

Thomas Mann

Not living in the present is a form of denial. It's easier to live in the past or future because then you don't have to be responsible for the present.

Jane Hendrix

Those who think to reach God by running away from the world,
when and where do they expect to meet him? We are reaching
him here in this very spot, now at this very moment.

Rabindranath Tagore

We hurry through the so-called boring things in order to attend
to that which we deem more important, interesting. Perhaps the final
freedom will be a recognition that every thing in every moment
is 'essential' and that nothing at all is 'important.'

Helen M. Luke

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Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe,
a moment that never was before and never will be again.

Pau Casals

I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly God was speaking. "My name is 'I Am.'" I waited. God continued.

"When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not 'I was.'

"When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not 'I will be.'

"When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here. My name is 'I Am.'"

Helen Mellicost

Be here in the moment, as an artist is here with focused attention,
whether you are cooking, cleaning, praying, playing, or reading. Be here
in the moment, as an athlete is here in that sweet spot of time when
everything is effortless, fluid, and free. The banquet is spread before us,
and it is the wish of the Divine Host that we partake of the present moment
without regrets for the past or fears of the future. Pledge yourself to the moment
and let it teach you. Surrender yourself to the moment and let it preach you.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

I've stopped thinking all the time of
what happened yesterday. And
stopped asking myself what's going
to happen tomorrow. What's happening
today, this minute, that's what I care
about. I say: What are you doing
at this moment, Zorba? . . . I'm kissing
a woman. Well, kiss her well, Zorba!
And forget all the rest while
you're doing it; there's nothing else
on earth, only you and her!

Nikos Kazantzakis

How wonderful are islands! Islands in space, like this one I have come to,
ringed about by miles of water, linked by no bridges, no cables,
no telephones. An island from the world and the world's life. Islands in time,
like this short vacation of mine. The past and the future are cut off; only the
present remains. Existence in the present gives island living an extreme vividness
and purity. One lives like a child or a saint in the immediacy of here and now.
Every day, every act, is an island, washed by time and space, and has
an island's completion. People, too, become like islands in such an atmosphere,
self-contained, whole and serene; respecting other people's solitude, not intruding
on their shores, standing back in reverence before the miracle of another individual.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

God puts you where God needs you. You are where
you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may
not be any easier on account of this, indeed it may be
harder, even more urgent, but now you are centered,
focused, clear. So this is where I am supposed to be.
I always thought I was supposed to be somewhere else,
doing something else, being someone else. But I realize
now that I was mistaken. This does not mean that I can't
or will not be doing something else.
Just right now, I am where God wants me.

Lawrence Kushner

When we yield to discouragement it is usually because
we give too much thought to the past and to the future.

St. Therese of Lisieux

When you live in the present moment, time stands still. Accept your circumstances
and live them. If there is an experience ahead of you, have it! But if
worries stand in your way, put them off until tomorrow. Give yourself
a day off from worry. You deserve it. Some people live with a low-grade
anxiety tugging at their spirit all day long. They go to sleep with it,
wake up with it, carry it around at home, in town, to church,
and with friends. Here’s a remedy: Take the present moment
and find something to laugh at. People who laugh, last.

Barbara Johnson

Each new moment presents an
opportunity for conscious choice.
We can choose to let go of the past.
We can choose to be here now.
We can choose to accept
responsibility for ourselves. . . .
We can choose to awaken.
Or we can choose to remain asleep
and unconscious.

Leonard Jacobson

"This very instant" is all we have. We make plans for the future, we
invoke memories of the past, but really, all we have to deal with
and to act in is the moment at hand. We cannot stop its going; we
cannot hurry the next moment on its way. Like everyone else in the
world, we're partners in the dull, humdrum, dazzling, fabulous,
totally unpredictable moment.
And if we have a time that is "out time," it's right now. It has to be,
because there isn't any other. Maybe we've had times in the past that
were special for us; maybe the future will hold precious moments.
But the only time that is truly "our time" is this time, where we
are, right now. And what we do with this time is ours to decide.

unattributed

Look at life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror.

My sister Barbara tried to teach me this lesson more than twenty years ago. At the time, she was planning her wedding under what I can only describe as bittersweet circumstances. On the one hand, my sister was about to realize a life-long dream: at age thirty-eight, she was about to marry the man she had been in love with since they were teenagers. On the other, she had just been diagnosed with colon cancer. . . .

"What good would it do to be angry, Patsy?" she said gently. "I can't change the past and I can't control the future. I can, however, make the most of the present. Shot and I are together now. At this moment. And, if you think about it, this moment is all any of us really has."

The ability to live fully in the moment--in the time and place we are right now--is one of the greatest secrets I know of living joyfully. Because once you grasp it, freedom is very close. You stop worrying about the past and stressing out about the future. Enjoying life--not agonizing about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow--becomes your priority. Your days become a gift, not a grind.

Patti LaBelle

Discard everything except these few truths: we can live
only in the present moment, in this brief now; all the rest
of our life is dead and buried or shrouded in uncertainty.
Short is the life we lead, and small our patch of earth.

Marcus Aurelius

We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be
in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good
at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years
for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car,
a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive
in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath
we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity.
We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh

As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are.
Otherwise you will miss most of your life.

the Buddha

We are all dangling in mid-process between what already
happened (which is just a memory) and what might happen
(which is just an idea). Now is the only time anything
happens. When we are awake in our lives, we know what's
happening. When we're asleep, we don't see what's right in front of us.

Sylvia Boorstein

You spend very little time
in the present moment.
Reality exists only
in the present moment.
Therefore you spend very little time
in reality.

Leonard Jacobson

Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date.
It isn't. In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here
tomorrow. Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we
have any control over. When our attention is in the present moment,
we push fear from our minds. . . . Practice keeping your attention
on the here and now. Your efforts will pay great dividends.

Richard Carlson

Remember this: Now is the only time you have. When God
created the universe, it was now. You can't say to creation
and energy, "I'll do it later, not now." Later doesn't exist.
Creation doesn't know anything but now. Whenever you get
around to doing what you want to do, it will be now. The
things you need to do to live a happier, more fulfilling life--the
only time you can possible start doing them is now.

Bernie Siegel