The Here and Now

“The future, the worry, the regret, the anxiety – these are all mental events that do not have to be part of the difficulty of life; these can be transcended here and now.”
Eckhart Tolle
 
The here and now is all there is and ever will be and this is a lesson that I seem to keep needing to learn over and over every day.  I know that I continually work on living in the present moment and that I am getting better at it.  I am more fully engaged when I chat with others – I really listen to them and don’t plan the next thing I am going to say. I live in the present moment when I am doing things I love like painting, gardening, taking a bath and doing anything creative.
 
However, I catch myself not living in the present moment when my thoughts drift off to worrying about things that might happen.  I stop myself and ask, “is anything bad happening in this moment?” and the answer is usually no.   But, my ego drifts off and thinks, “something bad could happen” or “maybe because I did this, people are going to be upset.”  Yes, something bad could happen and if it does, I will deal with it then. And yes, I will do things in life that may upset others, but I have no control over how others react.  I only have control over what I do and I am doing the best at making conscious decisions that will positively impact me and those effected by my decision.  I want to live in the present moment and leave these mental events that cause suffering behind.  There is only this moment.
 
How much time do you spend living in the mental world of worry, regret and anxiety?
 
What can you do to live more in the present moment?