Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now, dedicated an entire book to the concept of enjoying the moment. The term or notion, Power of Now, refers to living entirely in the moment. It means one must enjoy “right now” to the fullest and not worry about what comes next or you’ll miss your whole life because you are chasing something that you could be enjoying right now. This is not to say don’t have goals and aspirations. One can aspire to be the best and strive for success but one must also maintain, simultaneously a consciousness that allows one to enjoy life and live in the moment. I think we should challenge ourselves to have two streams of thought if you will, where determination and purpose run parallel with an awareness that life is too short to not enjoy it completely. In Italy there are no such things as “to-go-cups” in the Cafes. You are expected to sit down, in a beautifully intimate café, with real china to enjoy your cup of coffee during a hectic day. This should be encouraged because when you allow yourself to have a cathartic break from the ever-prevalent stress of the day, the quality of your work thereafter usually increases tremendously.
We live in a society where technology is ubiquitous. Giving all its users the illusion that they are so connected (via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc) that they cannot miss anything. However, in reality we are missing everything! Eckhart Tolle’s quote “Having access to that formless realm is truly liberating. It frees you from bondage to form and identification with form. It is a realm of deep stillness and peace, but also of joy and intense aliveness. Whenever you are present, you become “transparent” to some extent to the light, the pure consciousness that emanates from this Source. You also realize that the light is not separate from who you are but constitutes your very essence” (Tolle) exemplifies this concept really well. The ability to acknowledge the formless, intangible beauty of life is the essence of life. The meaning of life is essentially to find meaning in your life, be that what it may for you individually. I acknowledge that regret is usually a waste of time but I would hate to look back fifty or sixty years from now and wish that I had embraced the Power of Now more. So I challenge you, to enjoy the moment and live in it, not before it or after it, but right NOW.