A very wise and renowned teacher who lived in India not that long ago cautioned his students to take care of the moment that is lived. An admired and well known poet from the nineteenth century reminded her readers that life is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.

How often have you denied yourself the full expression of a taken action because your mind, your imagination has transferred your emotions to some future deed in some futuristic place?

Today the act of being present in the moment is referred to as mindfulness. If you want to stay authentic, real; if you want to continue to flourish, then learning and practicing being aware of who and where you are is essential. You and I know how unsatisfactory and useless a conversation becomes when both parties involved are preoccupied. The possibility of a warm and friendly connection is lost, the experience is diminished and easily forgotten.

The world around us is transformed into a different landscape and without the ability to be present in the moment many will be left behind, left on the sidelines, or worse left lost and alone. There is a pronounced uncertainty shaking a vast number of lives. The more mindful we are, the more capable we become to deal with the challenges and difficulties that befall us each day. Our life and the lives of our loved ones benefit the greater our awareness of them and their needs.

So many reasons to escape this time and no doubt many are doing just that, escaping. Some have selected mindlessness. Living and actually experiencing the moments of their life right now is too scary, too painful, too confusing. Without the ability to remain in the moment the situation they are in will not change and change is needed. Life is too short for us to waste a single moment. Each moment holds the possibility of something extraordinary, exciting, life affirming. It is a moment that may not come again.

We are now.