It has been broadcast for millenia, happiness is in the now.
Many take this to mean that each moment is enjoyable and we should let go of our past and live like there is no tomorrow. This is sound advice yet, do people actually consider this deeply enough to understand what this means and more importantly, be able to implement and live this way?
Living in the moment is not some magical place where happiness resides permanently, it is where life actually happens as either side of that moment has already happened or is yet to happen. This means that it is the only place we can actually act within and the place where all movement happens. It is the space we have the chance to do.
The moment is of course influenced by the past, as all of what has developed us until this point will act in that moment too. This means that who we are influences what we do. Pretty obvious really. It also means that what we do in each moment is going to influence who we are in the next; the future.
We grow as individuals because of our experiences and how we handle them in the moment. And when this is combined and intermingled with the learning and experiences of others, they come together to drive our evolution as a species.
Adaptation means to become better suited to the environment and for this to happen requires either a genetic deviation or the ability to simulate a deviation. Humans are great simulators. Humans have become so successful on this planet as a species because we come equipped with a range of mental and physical tools that allow us to adapt to the environment and even adapt nature to us.
This is done through the actions over millennia that have all been made in the uncountable moments. People who looked at their immediate environment and making decisions and movements to best manage themselves and facilitate those they care about, their family, friends, tribe.
This social aspect of adaptation was a game changer for our species as we were then able to face the now with a combined mind and body of sorts. Not everyone had to be brilliant at everything in order to survive. Individuals could narrow their skillset and cooperate to gain access to the components they lacked. This meant that as a group they could combine and tackle larger problems, hence benefiting from larger rewards.
The more the cooperation happened the larger the gains but, this had future ramifications as small groups were able to continually grow until they encroached on the hunting grounds of other populations. This is pretty much where we have stayed to this day even though new innovations are being made, the problem of contradictory desires of overlapping populations still exists.
But, all of these problems, past and future are only actually solvable in the now as that is where the action must always take place in order to step towards solution. This is why in my view living in the moment is vitally important. It is not just a way to 'enjoy' life, it is the way to actually live life. And if we want to continue having that possibility, acting in the moment is the only choice.
The problem is though that there are many distractions to being effective in the moment. So many things pull at our attention that we ignore what is actually happening. These things are worries about the past and future or expectations about what the future may hold based on what the past has told us. Recently, many people are more driven by their desire for enjoyment rather than their willingness to problem solve for survival.
This leads to a situation where the moment is used to act to satisfy a lopsided view of life and will of course direct it accordingly. Focusing on the fun doesn't mean the future will be filled with only fun, if anything it is more the opposite. If current problems are not solved now, they are likely to snowball into the future and continually encroach on the enjoyable experiences of life.
It will be similar to the past where different populations of people competed for resources however now, the resource is our attention. And without the majority of people actively developing their problem solving ability, the overall pool of problem solvers to face the snowballed challenges is smaller and stunted in ability.
By not facing the issues of the moment and continually chasing emotional pleasure, we may be leading ourselves into a situation where our ability to adapt to change is no longer adequate. We may be leading our species' evolution into a state where it is incapable to go on through its own mismanagement of the eternal now.
We can somewhat see this already as our demand on consumption has led the environment into a quickly sliding position we as humans will be unable to soon live in. The pollution of air and water are already taking their toll on our health and many places are unlivable already due to industrial and human waste.
All of these problems exist in the now, in the present and the lack of action in the now means that they will be present tomorrow, only a little worse. But this is the same at every level of our existence and most profound in the individual as it is the individual who makes society what it is, not the group.
In the moment, if each individual looked to find solutions to the minuscule problems they face each day, society would quickly transform and be wholly different than what it was in the past, and where it could be in the future.
From my view, living in the now isn't a place of pleasure, it is the place of action and meaning where we have the chance to grow and develop in the way we choose. It is an opportunity granted to us for whatever reason to realise that we do not need to work on instinct alone and we all have the ability to change our actions to better adapt. How we use this knowledge as individuals and a community is what drives our evolution as a species.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]