“The future that we want – this is it. This is the future of all the previous thoughts you’ve ever had about the future. You’re in it. You’re already in it. What is the purpose of all this living if it’s only to get some place else and then when you’re there you’re not happy anyway, you want to be some place else. It’s always for ‘when I retire,’ ‘when I graduate college,’ ‘when I make enough money,’ ‘when I get married,’ ‘when I get divorced,’ ‘when the kids move out.’ It’s like, wait a minute, this is it. This is your life. We only have moments. This moment’s as good as any other. It’s perfect.”
Jon Kabat- Zinn
Image: “moment” by Patrice Ouellet via Flickr
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
Ahh, yes. Such a good reminder. Already in it! Thank you 🙂
This is such a fascinating thought because I am ALWAYS looking ahead and waiting for my life to begin.
Well.. begun it has!
So thank you for sharing. I think this all too often.
I love Jon Kabat- Zinn. Thanks for sharing, as always. 🙂
I try to keep that in mind. It’s most difficult when the moment is not good, but I am always looking for those little good moments.
Yes, this is it and the secret is to live life that way.
So well said. I’ve read some of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s writings on mindfulness. He has a great way of getting at the essence of complex topics.
Thank you for sharing.