Appreciating the Now

Appreciating is the counterpoint to Wanting.  Sure, I hope you can enjoy the deliciousness of Wanting without feeling greedy or being fooled into thinking every Want demands immediate satisfaction.  But the Zen side of Wanting is Appreciating the Now.

Here is the Zen part.  All you ever really have is right Now.  Yesterday, last week, last year are gone.  You can say you have memories, but memories are really something you are doing (remembering) at this very moment.  Memories don't exist outside of you remembering.  In the same way, tomorrow isn't here yet and in a sense will always be in the future.  You follow this, don't you?

Wanting, Remembering, Planning, Anticipating, Worrying are all things you do (at any given Now moment of time) to try and imagine the future or past in the current moment.  All of these functions can be very useful (and sometimes enjoyable), but even these kinds of imaginings can only happen right Now.

So if all you really have (and ever will have) is Now, don't you think you should try to appreciate it?

This seemingly simple idea is strangely difficult to do, without practice.  Some people suggest focusing on the sensations of your body and your breath to connect with your physical self in the current moment.  Can you feel yourself breathe in and out?  Can you feel the thick carpet under the soles of your feet, or hear the sounds of birds or the rhythmic hum of the refrigerator?  Do you notice the patterns of clouds in the sky or the movement of the leaves of the tree you can see out of your window?

There is also the Appreciation of what you are doing right Now.  Are you studying for a test?  Then be aware of your desire to learn and let your mind focus on the words and ideas - your thoughts, your understanding of the concepts you are taking in.  Are you walking your dog? Then notice your pet, the leash, the feel of sun on your skin, the sound of the approaching car.  Are you reminiscing?  Then notice yourself reminiscing and Appreciate your mind's ability to remember a time that is past, and people who are gone or changed and to feel all the things you feel Now, as you recall these events in your mind's eye.

And there is the Appreciation of what you have right Now.   Maybe you crave a new baseball bat, but right now you can enjoy swinging the bat you have Now.  Don't let your desire for the bat of the future take away from your pleasure Now of swinging your bat that you can hold in your hands.  More important, I think, is to enjoy the people who are important to you right Now.  You can connect with distant friends with a text or a call, or you can sit and talk with someone who can be with you in the same room.

And then of course there is the Big Daddy of Things to Appreciate:  the Realization that you are Alive.